Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

...

...

...

"This can't be happening, not like this."

A woman reached her hand out as she cried helplessly.

"Someone please…"

It was getting cold.

The man holding her hand lying next to her began to dissipate.

It was getting darker.

"That is our only wish…"

"Please…!"

YEAR X774

…

…

…

It was early in the morning.

"I'm really sorry about this."

"We already told you, Pandora. We don't mind, really."

A young girl with black hair watched as her older sister lowered her head in apology to the lady in front of her while her older brother stood silently next to her looking rather drowsy.

"Karissa," Pandora said when she looked at her, "You be sure to listen to miss Mika and mister Silver, okay?"

Her brother, Van, approached her and ruffled her hair with a jovial smile on his face. "If you behave, I'll ask sis to buy you something cool. So just behave and focus on getting better, alright?"

Karissa just nodded sleepily. She was feeling lethargic from her fever. "I want a mango." she mumbled. Van chuckled. He poked her soft cheek for being adorable.

"We'll get you one, don't worry." Pandora giggled at the simple request.

Silver put his hands on his hips. "You kids be careful out there, okay?"

"We will, sir!" Van grinned while making a salute.

Pandora and Van were going to the next town to buy some groceries that were cheaper, especially since there was a sale. The town they lived in sometimes sold their products at a price that was too much for them to handle. Pandora, the only person who earned a living for her two younger siblings, was the only source of income in the family since they became orphans two years ago. While the Fullbuster family was kind enough to lend them some support out of sympathy, Pandora couldn't keep relying on their kindness.

The plan was to head to the next town that was at least a week away or less from their town with both her siblings. However, the youngest child of the family caught a fever a day before the departure. The older siblings tried their best to quell her fever but it was obvious that there was no way it would. They couldn't just drag their sick sister out of the house either. Pandora couldn't skip out on the trip to the next town since they were running out of supplies and she couldn't spend her money at her town's grocery market since it would limit the number of things she could buy. For that reason, she decided, with shame, to ask the Fullbuster family to take care of her sister while they were away. She was ashamed of pushing her sister onto them and for choosing to leave her instead of taking care of her. It was a tough decision.

However, Silver and Mika didn't mind looking after Karissa. They were glad to help.

Karissa, Silver and Mika watched as Pandora and Van walked away together. The two adults couldn't help but worry about the two. Pandora was only thirteen but she was already acting like an adult to take care of her younger siblings who were currently ten and eight. She had been doing this ever since she was eleven.

Karissa sniffled sickly.

Mika's head looked down to see the girl wrinkling her nose. "Ah, Karissa. Come on, let's get you inside." she said while opening the door for her.

Karissa walked slowly into the house. When she realized where she was, she looked around the house curiously before looking up at Silver.

"Where's Gray?"

Silver held up a finger to his lips. "He's still sleeping." He brought a hand behind her back and guided her further into the house. "You should rest a bit more."

"But… I'm not sleepy anymore. I can stay up." she said despite the sluggish manner in which she walked, making Silver smile a little.

"If you rest then you can get better faster."

He brought her to the guest room where he already dropped off Karissa's week worth of belongings when she arrived a few minutes ago. He opened the bed and helped her get inside. Mika came inside shortly and gave her a glass of water to drink before she lied down. Her head touched the pillow and she stared up to see both Silver and Mika smiling gently at her.

"Just go to sleep, Karissa."

"Mhm…"

Despite her previous protest, Karissa easily fell asleep.

"How are you feeling?" Mika asked Karissa, who was sitting in the living room, drawing. Silver and Gray went out together to buy some ingredients for supper while Karissa was sleeping, so Mika and Karissa were the only ones in the house.

"I'm okay." Karissa replied nonchalantly on her stomach while moving her legs back and forth. When she put down one of her coloring pencils, she felt Mika press a hand against her forehead after brushing away her bangs. Curiously, she looked at the brown haired lady and just watched.

"You feel a bit warm but it's better than before. Your fever should be gone by tomorrow."

This made Karissa brighten up with hope. She was already getting restless from how sedentary she was being.

"Karissa, do you want some fruit?" Mika asked while walking to the kitchen.

Karissa pushed herself on her knees. "Which one?"

"Orange."

"Okay."

Mika looked over her shoulder and gave Karissa a look. "What do we say?"

Karissa quirked up an eyebrow.

"Starts with a 'p'."

"Oh," Karissa hunched a little when she realized her little goof. "Yes, please."

Mika nodded with a smile. "Good."

Mika peeled her an orange and sat with her at the kitchen table as she ate. They ended up looking at the photo album together to pass the time as they ate oranges.

Gray and Silver returned home a few minutes later.

"We're back." Silver spoke with his gruff voice from the front door. "Hi, mom." Gray's voice followed after.

Upon hearing his voice, Karissa turned around in her seat to look at him. "Hi, Gray!" she said happily while waving her hand.

The eight year old known as Gray looked at Karissa. "Oh. Hey, Karissa. You're awake."

"Uh-huh."

"How you feeling, kiddo?" Silver asked her when he put down the bag of groceries.

"I'm okay." Karissa smiled at him. Silver looked at his wife to affirm her answer. "Her fever's going down. She'll be fine by tomorrow."

"That's good to hear."

"So, what? You get to freeload for a week?" Gray wondered, causing his mother to reach down and pinch his cheek. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"You don't say 'freeload', Gray! That's not nice." she scolded him with a stern look. "Karissa is welcomed here."

"I-I was just asking…!"

Silver and Karissa looked at each other for a brief moment before chuckling together.

…

…

…

When it was dinner time, everyone was eating together at the dinner table. Silver was cracking jokes here and there, making everyone laugh. The atmosphere in the house was nice and warm, just like how a family should be. That feeling must have been the explanation as to why Karissa suddenly started shedding tears while eating her food next to Gray.

"Gah!" Gray flinched. "Wh-Why are you crying…?!" he managed to say after freezing up for a second.

Karissa put down her fork and put her fingers on top of her eyes to try and stop her tears. She didn't answer him, she just lowered her head and hid her face. She didn't know what to do. It felt a little shameful to cry in front of everyone but she just couldn't help it.

She didn't make a sound.

Mika put down her eating utensils and wiped her mouth her napkin. She looked at her husband who just gave her a quick nod as she stood up from her seat. She went over to Karissa and gently brought her out of her chair, guiding her down the hall to her temporary room.

"What's wrong with her?" Gray asked his father while chewing his food. "Is she okay?" he asked his father, worried about his friend.

Silver scratched the back of his head. "She's probably missing Pandora and Van already."

She hasn't really had any opportunity to get over separation anxiety. Pandora always makes sure that Karissa is with people since she's the youngest of the family.

"But doesn't she know that they're coming back?"

"Eh… it's a bit complicated. But I guess you could say it's like when you used to cry when mom would leave the house." Silver smirked when he said that last part, enjoying the way Gray reddened in embarrassment.

"I-I didn't cry…!"

"Oh, you did."

"Nu-uh." Gray shook his head stubbornly.

…

…

…

Mika stroked Karissa's head softly while she sat next to her. They were both sitting on the edge of the bed, Karissa was no longer hiding her face with her hands but with her sleeve. She wasn't sobbing or anything like that but the tears still kept coming out.

"It's going to be okay." Mika cooed while adding a back rubbing to her comforting. "They'll come back."

"I know… they said they would." Karissa mumbled while rubbing her sleeve against her face to wipe her tears. She lowered her arm and looked at the floor with puffy eyes. "But I'm still a bit sad…"

Mika smiled softly, she brushed a stray tear away. "And that's fine. You're lonely because you love them, that's fine. It's normal."

"Sorry…"

"You have nothing to apologize for."

Mika brushed some hair out of her face. "Do you want to go back out and continue eating or do you want to wait a little so you can clam down?"

Karissa looked at Gray's mother as she thought about it.

…

…

She sniffed and shook her head to push away her thoughts. "I wanna eat."

Mika stood up and followed after her back into the kitchen.

She's a strong girl.

Later, after eating dinner, Karissa went to her room after washing up. She was rummaging through her bag that she brought with her. She stuck a hand inside. She was looking for something that might help her find some type of comfort while Pandora and Van were absent.

Her door creaked open.

With her hand still in her bag, she looked at the door with surprise.

Gray was standing there his towel on his head; he just came out of the bath.

"Hi." Karissa smiled.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously, stepping into the room to sit on the bed.

"Looking for something— oh! Got it." Karissa pulled out a stuffed animal.

Gray stared at it. "What's that? A pig?"

Offended, Karissa gave him a confused face. "What? No! It's like… a dog."

It was light yellow, almost white. It had a big pink nose with blue eyes. It had a small bow with heart-like polka dots underneath its head. Its paws were baby blue. And the best thing about it was that it made jingle sounds every time Karissa shook it. There was a little bell inside.

Karissa gave him a demonstration by shaking the stuffed animal. "Pretty cute, right?"

Compared to the starry look on her face, Gray looked unimpressed with it. Instead, he just looked it with an unsure expression.

"Looks weird."

Karissa gaped at him. "That's not true. Look at it!" she shook it even more aggressively, making more jingle sounds. Gray slowly reached for it and then held it up in one hand as if to critically observe it.

"Admit it, you think it's cute." Karissa sat next to him.

"… I guess." he squinted his eyes.

She pouted at that. Gray gave her back her stuffed animal which she proceeded to hug to her chest. It was the last thing left of her parents since they died.

Gray and Karissa became friends three years ago. At that time, her parents were still with her. Her parents were friends with Mika and Silver, that was the reason they got acquainted in the first place. They got along pretty fast because Karissa wanted to play tag with someone. At first, Gray just looked weirded out when she patted him and called him it before running off. When he decided to play along, it somehow turned into a competitive game of who can keep the it from touching them. After running around, they just collapsed on the grass together when they tried to catch their breath.

It was after that simple game of tag that Gray and Karissa started hanging out with each other, they didn't even live too far from each other. Kids had the uncanny ability to easily make bonds with other kids.

When Gray came to Karissa's room, he wanted to ask if she was feeling okay since he couldn't help but feel somewhat bad that she crying earlier. Obviously, he was never going to say that. But judging from the way she was acting, it seemed like she was okay.

"Hm? What is it?" Karissa blinked when Gray kept staring at her.

"Huh?!" Gray jolted. "N-Nothing." he looked away, reddening at the fact that he was caught staring.

"Weirdo."

"Says the girl with the pig toy."

"It's not a pig!"

"Look at his nose!"

"Only you would think it's a pig's nose, Gray!" she stuck her tongue out.

"What are you two up to?" Silver appeared at the door, prompting the two children to look at him. He was already dressed in his nightwear with his wife standing behind him wearing her nightdress.

"Gray's a weirdo." Karissa grinned.

"Am not!" Gray scowled.

"Oof, son, you're gonna let her call you names?" Silver taunted with a laugh. Mika giggled on the side before stepping into the room.

"If I'm a weirdo then that makes you an even more weirdo." Gray nudged her with his arm which she retaliated by shoving him lightly. "Whoever calls the person weird is definitely the weird one." She countered. "Weirdo."

Gray smirked. "Then you gotta be two times weirder than me!"

Karissa opened her mouth to say something but she couldn't find a way to counter him.

…

…

"You're a mama's boy!"

There was a pause for two seconds.

"Wh-Wh-What?! No, I'm not!" his ears turned red as he scowled.

Silver let out a boisterous laugh at that, especially since it was so true. He ruffled the back of his hair with a smile. Before Gray could say something, Mika came up behind him and started towel drying his dark wet hair.

"How many times have I told you? You need to dry your hair or else you'll get sick, Gray."

"… No, I won't." Gray muttered while sitting cross-legged, letting his mother pamper him.

Karissa couldn't help but feel victorious in their little banter since he didn't retort. She was about to say something until she also felt a towel being rubbed on her head. She let out a surprised cry. When she was able to peek through her messy hair, she saw that Silver was towel drying her hair too.

"You don't want to get sick again, right?" Silver told her as he deftly towel dried her hair.

"No…" she pouted adorably as she stared up at him.

Silver nearly clutched his shirt where his heart was supposed to be when he saw how cute she looked. No matter how many times he saw her display adorable expressions, he could never fully get used to it.

As Mika and Silver dried their hair, Gray and Karissa nudged each other with their foot with playful smiles.

The next day, Karissa was bursting with energy. She wouldn't sit still in the house. Silver thought it would be good for Karissa to get her mind off things and just have fun for a while. He decided that some sight seeing up a hill would be nice.

Gray and Karissa walked side by side in front of him while wearing light sweaters since it was a bit cold outside. They were just talking about random things that kids thought about while Silver walked behind them with a smile on his face. Having Karissa around definitely made him feel like he had a daughter.

"Dad," Gray looked at his father and pointed ahead. "Are we going up that hill over there?"

Karissa curiously looked ahead when he pointed, wondering what hill he was talking about. Pandora never really let her and Van up any sort of hills out of fear of loosing track of them if they weren't inside the town. Up ahead, behind some houses, there was a hill just outside the town. It wasn't too high up.

"Yup, the same one from before."

Gray looked at Karissa and smirked. "Wanna race?" he suggested with an arrogant tone. "I bet I could make it up there before you and my dad."

As if Gray flipped a switch inside her, Karissa narrowed her eyes at him and scoffed. "You wanna bet?"

Silver sweat dropped at the sight of the two staring at each other intensely. He reached a hand out to them, "Oi… let's take it easy, we're not in a rush—"

Gray and Karissa bolted away from Silver, leaving him in their dust.

"GAH! Wait a moment you two!"

…

…

…

Gray and Karissa ran side by side at full speed while avoiding many people.

"Eat my dust, loser!" Karissa shouted as she started getting ahead.

Due to having a thrill, Karissa ended up laughing as she ran. It almost made her look crazy. Meanwhile, Gray was letting out a shout as he ran. Her laughter, however, was stopped when she ran into someone's side by accident. She pivoted on her heel upon impact and then fell on her side, hard.

"Ugh, watch where you're going."

Karissa sat up with a frown and looked up to see a boy that was a few years older than her. Judging by the scowl on his face, he didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"Sorry." She muttered while pushing herself up and then patted herself to remove the dirt on her clothes. Unfortunately, the teen didn't seem to accept her apology since he just leaned down and narrowed his eyes at her. He poked her harshly on the shoulder, shoving her back. "Sorry doesn't cut it you, runt. You nearly made me fall and ruin my clothes."

Karissa cocked her head to the side. "But you're fine…?" she said bluntly. "No big deal."

"Hah?"

"Geez. It's just clothes." Karissa grimaced in irritation. "And I already said that I was sorry." she mumbled.

Karissa wasn't exactly the type to back down from an argument. Because of that, she got into a little scuffle once with some neighborhood girl.

Not liking the way she was talking back to him, he was about to shove her with his hand this time. But a smaller hand just as harshly pushed his hand away. Karissa blinked in surprise. She looked at her side where she found Gray panting as he looked at the older boy with an annoyed look on his face. This brought a smile on her face knowing that her friend was backing her up in this situation.

"She said she was sorry!"

"Yeah! I did!"

"Geh, now there's two of you… So annoying." he stood tall and looked down on them. Gray and Karissa took a step back but still didn't back down.

"Ahem."

The teen flinched when he heard the rather deep voice of the person standing right behind him. When he turned to look, he found Silver looking at him with crossed arms and an eyebrow raised, daring him to try anything funny in his presence. This made Gray smirk and Karissa pull a face with her tongue out behind the teen's back. Seeing the adult made the teen rethink his choices. He opted to just slowly walk away from the three of them without another word. Silver eyed him until he went around the corner before looking at the two kids in front of him.

Karissa had a friendly arm around Gray since she was super happy that he came back for her. Gray just stared at her with an arrogant grin, feeling good about his father scaring away the teen.

"My dad's the best!"

"I know right?! He made that guy run away!"

But when the two sensed Silver's gaze lingering on them, they fell silent and slowly looked at him while letting each other go.

He gave them a look. "No more running off like that."

"Sorry…"

The three of them took their time going up the hill. When they reached the top, there was a bench next to a tree waiting for them behind the safety of a rail. Karissa and Gray jogged over to rail and both looked down. They were so high up. It was so fascinating for Karissa since it was her first time up there. The only time she got to see a view from above was when she went up a rather small grass hill in the town or when she swung high enough on her swing at the park.

"Oh, look. I can see my house from here!" Karissa exclaimed while pointing downwards while rocking on her heels. "Look, mister Silver!"

"Careful, Karissa. Don't lean too close." Silver warned her.

"Oh, sorry. But look! There's my house! Do you see it too, Gray?"

"Well, duh. You keep pointing at it."

One thing that Silver noticed about Karissa was her inability to sit still and her love for attention. She liked moving around since she was always so curious. She liked having attention whether it be in a negative or positive manner, something that she definitely needed to work out. She was also rather affectionate towards people she liked, often asking hugs from adults like the nice man who sold fruit near her house.

Karissa turned away from the view to look at Gray for a moment. Then she noticed how he had a leaf on his hair. Without a word, she reached for the leaf and pulled it off of him. Gray's eyes shifted to look at the leaf she held up between his eyes.

"Huh? When did that get there?" Gray raised his hand to ruffle his hair to check if another leaf was on it.

"I dunno." She shrugged.

"Hm… oh, uh, thanks."

"No problem~" she firmly held the leaf between her index and thumb before she held her hand past the rail. Her dark brown eyes moved to look down for a moment and then she let the leaf fall. She tried her best to keep track of the green thing until she eventually lost track of it from the breeze.

"By the way," Gray looked at her, "I totally would have won that race."

Karissa gave him a skeptical look, totally unconvinced. "I was ahead of you."

"I would've caught up."

"Uh-huh."

Four days had passed since Pandora and Van left the town. Karissa wasn't as sad a she used to be when it came to their absence. During that time, Karissa enjoyed her time with the Fullbuster family. She did get in trouble with Mika once when she and Gray argued over something that she started. She also got scolded by Silver when she climbed up a tree and nearly fell out of it. Other than that, she genuinely enjoyed it there so much that she couldn't help but let the fact that her siblings were absent slip her mind. Her stuffed animal that she used to keep her company at night was back inside her bag since she wasn't feeling so lonely anymore.

Everything was fine.

…

…

…

Until one night she was woken up by a loud thud that shook her bed.

Her brown eyes shot open at the tremors. What was happening? She sat up in her bed and looked outside the window. It was still dark outside. But, she could see some house's shinning with light. The light looked a bit orange. She couldn't tell since she was still drowsy, her brain was still half-asleep.

Then, all of a sudden, there was loud noise. Karissa flinched, her hands shot up to her ears and she covered them to block the noise.

"What is that…?" She muttered to herself. When she moved to pull the sheets off her body, she felt another tremor, making her freeze up for a moment.

Seriously, what was happening?

Her body went from sluggish to alarmed with that tremor, she landed on the ground and went to her door urgently.

Then, she heard Mika's voice shrieking outside.

"Oh my god! Silver, get the children! Hurry!"

Karissa opened her door where she was faced with Gray who was also peeking outside his room. His room was situated right in front of the guest room which was hers right now. They looked at each other with anxious expressions.

"What's happening?" she whispered to him. She was just in socks wearing a pink long sleeve shirt and white pants with dog patterns on it.

"I-I don't know…" Gray said nervously. His hair was all messed up from sleeping. He was just in a dark blue shirt, white shorts and socks.

Then, still dressed in his house clothes, Silver appeared around the corner and wordlessly went to grab Gray and Karissa, making them yelp in confusion and surprise. Karissa was under his arm while Gray was being carried on his shoulder.

"Dad, what's happening?"

"Mister Silver?"

Then, there was another loud sound, it was similar to the second sound she heard. It was then that Karissa realized how similar it sounded to some beast she heard when the townspeople brought a live monster from their hunt in the forest. Something out there was roaring.

"What was that?!" Gray panicked.

"We're in danger. We have to get out of here!" Silver told them as he ran to the front door of their house. There was a booming sound that shook the earth, making Silver stumble from the sudden tremor. He nearly fell. The father could feel both children shaking from the fear in his hold.

"Mika!" he shouted, "I've got Gray and Karissa, let's go!"

Karissa saw Mika standing at the door, waiting for them. When they got closer, she opened the door and then the dark house was illuminated by the dancing flames outside. The house in front of theirs was destroyed and it was on fire. Despite that, Silver and Mika dashed out of the house with the children.

Gray and Karissa were witnessing the destruction around them. There was smoke and fire everywhere. Everyone was screaming. People were crying over bodies that no longer moved. There was blood.

It was nothing like a few hours ago.

It was a nightmare.

Karissa practically shook like a leaf in Silver's arm. "Wh-What's happening?!"

Gray's eyes widened when he saw a large figure behind them.

"Mom… dad…! What is that?"

It was looking around as if admiring its work. It was obvious that the cause of this mass destruction was that thing standing over there. Gray tensed when he saw it raise its head to let out another terrifying roar, causing Karissa to her head around to try and see where it was coming from. Suddenly, a beam of light came from the monster's mouth. The beam flew right past them. The next second, the ground practically exploded with fire. The buildings around them were destroyed in an instant.

And then everything went black.

Chapter Text

The skies were now brighter than they were the previous night. What was once a town bustling with people was now nothing more than a sight of a disastrous aftermath in complete silence. The smoke from the fire still lingered in the air.

A woman and a boy walked into the destroyed town, heads turning frequently to gather the aftermath around them. It was certainly terrible. The boy had wandered away from the woman to take a better look at something that caught his eye while the woman stared in front of her. Then she heard a sound. It was clear to her in such a deserted place. It was a scratching type of sound.

"Lyon, come over here! We've got a survivor!"

The boy known as Lyon whirled around quickly in shock before bolting over to where the woman was. Underneath the rubble, was Gray. He was awake and crying from the mix of despair and anger he was feeling.

Lyon crouched down in front of the rubble to take a better look at the other boy.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Deliora… I won't forgive Deliora… never."

The woman gently pushed away Lyon, "Lyon, stand aside."

"Ur…?"

"Go look around and check if anyone else is still alive." Ur told him as she began to move away some rubble that was on top of Gray. It was crucial to check if there were anymore survivors like the boy.

"Oh, okay." Lyon nodded his head and walked off in a random direction. He whipped his head around several times to try and spot a living person. However, he couldn't tell which ones were dead and which ones were alive. So, he decided to cup his hands around his mouth and yell.

"Hey! Is there anyone alive?!"

…

…

…

Karissa's eyes opened. She was confused. Instead of laying inside a bed, she was outside lying on the cold concrete floor. Her right arm was hurting. There was also some wood on her back, trapping her underneath it.

Then, the memories of the previous night just flashed into her mind. After that huge explosion, she couldn't remember anything else that happened. What was going to happen now?

"Mister Silver… Miss Mika… Gray… where are you?" she mumbled sadly, scared of the overwhelming feeling of being alone.

"Hey! Is there anyone alive?!"

Karissa's head rose when she heard the voice.

"Can anyone hear me?!"

There was someone there. With little strength she had, she tried shimming her way out in hopes of seeing the other person.

Lyon, who was standing not too far from her, heard her movements and gasped. It was a girl! Immediately, he started running over to where she was. "Wait, I'll help you get out of there!" he shouted when he saw her futile attempts to get out. When he was in front of her, she looked up at him with her dark brown eyes, feeling helpless. The wood on her body was long and a bit thin yet still capable of trapping her underneath with its weight. He sucked in a deep breath as he summoned up all of his strength and then crouched to put his hands underneath. He lifted the wood off her body and looked at her.

"O-Okay! You can get out now." he wheezed.

Karissa did her best to hurry and get on her knees and crawl away. When she made it out, she just sat on the back of her legs and looked around. She couldn't recognize anything. The place didn't even look like home anymore. It felt empty.

When Lyon finally dropped the wood, he let out a relieved breath and dusted his hands off. Then he fanned away the cloud of smoke that flew in the air from dropping it. When he turned around to look at the girl, he saw how lost she looked as her eyes took in the sight around her. He frowned, unsure of what to do. From his peripheral vision, he saw Ur waving him over.

Karissa felt Lyon hold her hand, causing her to look at him curiously. "Come on." was all he told her before gently guiding her to where Ur was. Lyon made sure to avoid any rock paths since she was just wearing a pair of socks. Karissa just kept her head down and looked at the concrete under her. What was going to happen now?

"Karissa…?"

The girl lifted her head when she heard the familiar voice. Gray was standing there next to a woman who most likely found him too. Karissa let go of the boy's hand and hurried over to Gray, super relieved to see a familiar face. Her world felt just a tad bit brighter now. He was also relieved to see her; she could tell from the small smile and the slumping relief of his shoulders. But then his face darkened and his eyes started threatening to spill more tears.

"I'll never forgive Deliora." he stated angrily while looking at the ground. "That monster did this...!"

Karissa's eyes widened. The name of that demon. It was a demon of destruction that destroyed everything around it. She heard tales of it but she never thought it actually existed. She first heard about it while shopping in the market with her siblings. Pandora had told her that it was just some myth that people talked about because they were bored. Pandora had lied to her.

She figured that Gray must have seen it the previous night.

Karissa gazed at Gray numbly.

Ur gazed at the two observantly. Unlike the girl, the boy was slowly falling into darkness with his thirst for revenge.

"Don't worry, I won't leave you two alone."

They arrived in Grandell, the town up ahead, which was the town where Pandora and Van traveled to go grocery shopping. Karissa had told Ur about her situation and Ur decided to take them there and wait until her siblings arrived. If it was possible, then perhaps Pandora would take care of both Karissa and Gray. There was a place proving shelter for the people who were homeless thanks to Deliora's rampage. Karissa was still in her pyjamas when she saw a familiar lady running a food stand. It was the lady who was always giving her family a discount due to their tight financial situation. Her names was Lilith. She went to her immediately.

"Oh my goodness!" Lilith covered her mouth when she saw the ragged state that Karissa was in. She had already guessed what had happened to Karissa. She went around her stand and went to embrace Karissa tightly. "You must have been through a lot, Karissa." She pulled away to put a hand on her face. "Are you alright?"

Ur, Lyon and Gray went over to the stand to catch up to Karissa.

Karissa held up right arm that was bandaged thanks to Ur. "Yeah I'm fine. But is Pandora and Van here?"

Lilith looked taken back by that question. "Pandora and Van…? They left town two days ago."

Karissa was surprised. They already went home so soon?

"Two days ago?" Ur repeated. "Then that means they must have arrived the day Deliora attacked the town. It's possible that they might have been caught in the destruction…"

Pandora and Van did not take any carriages or train to get to Grandell. They usually walked since Pandora felt like it was best to save money, it took them three days to get there. They only took a vehicle when they traveled home since they couldn't carry everything on foot. By train, it would take them a day to return home.

Gray clenched his fists tightly.

Lyon looked up at Ur silently, she really wasn't going to sugar coat anything.

Karissa didn't say anything. Could they really be gone too? She didn't know what to do now.

Lilith suggested that they stay in town for a day just in case Van and Pandora returned to find her. It's possible that they were on their way back to look for her in Grandell. Lilith told Karissa to hope for that chance, providing some more light to her dark world.

As Ur said, she didn't leave the two alone. She agreed to this suggestion and decided to wait a day in Grandell for Pandora and Van. She also took this opportunity to buy Karissa and Gray some new clothes and shoes since they couldn't keep walking around in ragged sleepwear clothes. Ur paid for a room in an inn an informed one of the people in charge of the shelter to send Pandora and Van to the inn in case they asked for Karissa.

They waited for a day.

But Pandora and Van never came.

…

…

…

Karissa had learned that Ur was a mage who just happened to be passing by with her disciple Lyon. They lived up north in Iceberg. While Karissa was glad to have some type of distraction to ease her worried mind, Gray was just quiet and as he listened. It was only when Ur had mentioned that she was teaching Lyon magic that Gray showed some interest.

"What do you want to do?" Ur asked them. "I could leave you with an orphanage… or—"

"I want you to also teach me magic." Gray declared seriously, prompting Lyon to whip his head in his direction with a shocked face. He glanced at Gray and then at Ur and then at Gray once more. "What?! Why—" Lyon was cut off when Ur put a hand on his mouth. "Are you sure?"

Gray nodded. "Yeah. I want to learn." He clenched his small fist tightly. "I want to become powerful enough to take revenge on Deliora."

Ur didn't say anything in response to that, she just gazed at him thoughtful for a few seconds. Then she looked at Karissa. "And what about you? Do you want to come along and train under me as well?"

Karissa absolutely didn't want to be sent to an orphanage. Never. She didn't even want to live with Lilith if it was possibility. She didn't want to be alone. She wanted to stay with Gray. Her choice was obvious. "I want to come too. I'll learn magic with you." she said while playing with the hem of her shirt.

Ur nodded. Despite Lyon's silent protests, she had decided to take on two new pupils. All that was left was to buy them some clothes in town since they were going to start living with her. Then, they took the train to head north and then walked up a mountain where Ur's house was.

They were walking higher up the snowy mountain.

Ur was leading the way while Gray walked behind her. Lyon and Karissa were walking together in the back. Karissa had her hands in her pockets while Lyon just had his hands behind his head, he didn't seem to mind the cold as much as she did.

"So, how old are you?"

Karissa looked at him. "Me? Um, I'm eight."

She felt a bit uneasy about being around Lyon. She could remember the way he acted when Ur decided to take her and Gray in; he wasn't pleased at all. He didn't even look at the two of them for a while. He just crossed his arms and looked sour during the whole trip on the train. But now he was acting friendlier since he was asking her questions and stuff about what she liked to do. Gray was kind of irked at the way he just bounced back cheerfully since he wasn't used to it. Karissa was content compared to Gray since she rather not be on someone's bad side.

Lyon grinned. "Hey, I'm older than you. I'm nine." He pointed at Gray. "What about him?"

Gray looked over his shoulder with a scowl. "I'm right in front of you." Lyon just ignored him.

"He's also eight." Karissa smiled. Despite Gray's current obsession with Deliora, it was still him underneath it all.

Ur finally stopped. She put her hands on her hips while her back faced them. "First, the basics of ice magic." She turned around to look at her new students. "Gray, Karissa, can you handle it? My training is hard."

She was probably referring to the open snow field around them. They would be training in the cold.

"Um, I'll do my best." Karissa said nervously, unsure of how she should give her answer.

"Yeah! I'll do anything! As long as I can get the power to defeat Deliora, I can do anything!" Gray boasted confidently in front of Ur.

"Sheesh." Lyon muttered next to Karissa before sighing. She heard his clothes rustling next to her but she didn't pay attention since her eyes were on Ur… who was now stripping down to her underwear. Gray let out a choked gasp while Karissa just took a step back, wondering what was happening. Then she felt Lyon nudge her side with his elbow. He was also in his underwear.

"Come on, you have to do it too." Lyon grinned.

"Seriously…?" Karissa grimaced.

"I know it's weird at first but it's part of training." Lyon told her with his arms crossed.

It was embarrassing and it was ridiculous. But in the end, she still stripped too. She was clad in her panties and a cropped undershirt that Ur had bought for her. It didn't take long for her to start shivering. The cold was overtaking the amount of embarrassed meant she was feeling. Her clothes were dumped on the side next to Lyon's.

"Lyon, it's cold..." Karissa whined while removing one barefoot from the snow to try and somehow heat it up by not touching the snow.

"You think I'd strip in this snow?!" Gray turned around. "Karissa, Lyon! Back me up!" He shouted. The sight of a smiling Lyon with his arms crossed and a frowning Karissa who just shivered silently nearly made his eyes pop out. "You guys are naked too?!" He exclaimed out in disbelief. He was also embarrassed from seeing his friend in her underwear.

He looked at Ur with a scowl and blushing face. "You're a woman, right?! Aren't you embarrassed?"

Ur just laughed. "Being in my underwear in front of kids? Not really." she waved her hand dismissively, "Now, come on, take your clothes off. If you want to control the cold, you have need to become one with the cold."

After Gray stripped, all three of them were shivering.

"You'll get used to it soon." Ur reassured with a smile.

Lyon, who claimed he was already used to it, was actually shivering just as much as they were. It made Karissa snort in amusement.

"Come on, we're going to run." Ur announced suddenly as she started running off.

"Hey! Teach me magic!" Gray shouted behind her.

"Just run," Lyon groaned. "Even I am doing the basics for you."

Karissa shivered. "My feet…" she moaned. "They're cold…"

Ur was teaching them ice molding magic. According to her, it was a type of magic that was unrestrained, it was the greatest freedom. Each individual's molding magic is unique. It's type of magic that best show's the caster's personalities.

…

…

…

Ten days after Deliora's attack, Gray and Karissa were already making some ice. They weren't at Lyon's level just yet but they were gradually improving each day.

The three students were friends. It made Ur feel glad to have accepted to teach Gray and Karissa since Lyon could have someone around his age to hang around with. Gray and Lyon were rivals while Karissa was the mediator since she was always the one that had to try and stop them whenever they started fighting.

"Alright, time for bed time." Ur said after closing the lights in the kitchen. Her three students were sitting on the couch in their pajamas after brushing their teeth instead of just heading upstairs to sleep. Gray was the first to hop off the couch while Lyon just sat there looking at Karissa. She was sleeping next to him, curled up next to the arm rest of the couch.

Ur looked at Lyon when he called her. "Karissa's fast asleep on the couch." Lyon pointed with his finger. Ur and Gray walked over to them and stared at her sleeping face. The reason she was fast asleep was because she trained hard earlier. She actually spent a lot of her time improving a specific ice creation several times until she was satisfied, in other words she was literally spent of magic power.

"That girl." Ur sighed, "She needs to learn to conserve her strength. In a real fight, she would definitely lose." Ur said as she scooped her up and went to the stairs.

The two boys looked at each other and then shrugged at the same time, they followed closely behind after shutting the living room lights. "She can be reckless..." Lyon whispered.

Gray snorted. "Tell me about it."

Soon all the lights in the house was shut off, except for one room. Ur gently placed Karissa in bed, and instantly the little nuzzled her face in the pillow. Her spot was right next to Ur and Gray. When Gray slipped under the blanket he shared with Karissa and Lyon, she let out a tired sigh and stared up at the ceiling. She might have sensed his warmth since she just turned towards him and scooted a bit closer. Gray just flinched and grimaced at how close she had gotten.

"What the...?!"

"Shh! Be quiet, you dope. You're gonna wake her!" Lyon whispered a little too loudly.

"Shut up, you know-it-all!" Gray snapped at him.

"Alright, you two shut up and just go to sleep." Ur hissed, not wanting Karissa to wake up because of them.

"Fine."

…

…

…

The girl felt someone's knee prod her butt followed by a cool chill. It was enough to wake her from her sleep. With squinted eyes, she pushed herself up a little and twisted around to look behind her since she was facing Ur. Gray was sleeping messily, limbs practically askew.

Karissa narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance for disturbing her sleep. "Geez." she uttered before sticking her tongue out at him.

The clouds hiding the moon slowly began to clear the way for the only source of natural light at night. The moonlight began to seep into the room, touching Lyon first before slowly stretching towards Gray, Karissa and Ur. Karissa could see the dust flying in the light.

She was feeling something quite familiar; it was something she felt not too long ago.

Her hand reached out for something.

Karissa blinked.

… It's not with me anymore.

Her stuffed animal. She lost it after Deliora attacked her hometown.

Her hand slowly fell back to her side. She sat there quietly for about a minute.

Karissa quietly pushed herself up so she wouldn't wake Gray with how she was moving the blanket. Her feet barely made a sound when she went to the door, then she left the room.

She went to the bathroom and sat on the toilet cover. She let out a sigh and looked down.

Maybe… Maybe they're okay?

Her eyes started stinging but all she did was keep staring at a single tile.

I just want to see them again.

Karissa played with her fingers.

I miss them.

"Mommy… daddy…" she said in a quiet broken voice.

…

…

…

Ur awoke to the faint sound of crying. As a trained wizard, it was in her nature to be alert thus being able to wake up to the slightest odd sounds was a must for her. The first thing she noticed was one of her students missing from their bed. It immediately got her concerned; it had her glancing around the room several times. The more she stayed awake, the more she was able to clearly hear the sound of crying coming from somewhere in the house. Without another thought, Ur got up from the floor and quietly exited the room to avoid waking Lyon and Gray.

She followed the sound to the bathroom where she could now hear soft hiccupping.

Ur took hold of the handle and slowly opened the door.

The sight of Karissa crying on the toilet with her arms up horizontally to bury her face in them just made Ur's heart ache. Seeing the manner in which she cried made Ur believe that she was in emotional pain. It was resonating with her motherly instincts.

"Hey, Karissa." Ur called her name softly while entering the bathroom. The girl didn't say anything but grit her teeth in an attempt to stop herself from crying anymore. Her teacher kneeled down in front of her and held the side of her shoulders. "What's the matter?"

Karissa may be her student but she was still a child.

Karissa just shook her head. "I-I'm fine."

Ur smiled a little. "You're not okay if you're crying in the bathroom in the middle of the night." She pointed out. "Was it a nightmare?"

Karissa shook her head again while biting her lip.

"I just miss my family."

Ur stilled for a moment.

"… I-It's not the first time. I already lost my mommy and daddy before… now I lost my big sister and big brother… It's not fair." Karissa sniffled. "I feel alone."

Karissa lowered her arms and looked down at her arms. They were wet from her tears. Ur leaned up and embraced her, she rubbed her back softly. Karissa understood that death was something inevitable and out of her control but she was feeling the pain and the sense of loneliness that came from it. Ur had made the mistake to focus a bit more of her attention on Gray who was wrapped up in his desire for revenge. She should have realized a bit sooner that Karissa was also feeling quite sad despite the strong front she put on.

"It hurts, I know it does." Ur said while looking forlorn. "But you're never alone. As long as you have other people you care about and have people who care for you in return, you won't be alone. I'm here, Gray and Lyon too… we're all here. That's what we humans do; we look out for each other."

Karissa just hummed to acknowledge Ur's words.

…

…

Lyon and Gray looked at each other in the dark. They were out of bed and standing near the door of the room so that they could listen.

"I feel bad for her." Lyon mumbled.

"Damn that Deliora…" Gray gritted his teeth.

They both ran back to their beds when they heard Ur and Karissa coming back.

Ur watched her students put their clothes back on. Karissa was panting heavily compared to the other two from the exertion of too magic power. Again, she overdid it. No matter how many times she warned her about it, Karissa kept repeating her mistakes. The girl was insisting that she was trying her best to follow Ur's instructions, she felt like she was. But if Ur kept lecturing on it, then it was obvious she wasn't trying hard enough. She saw talent in Karissa, she really did, she just needed to learn to be reasonable in how much magic power she spent.

"D-Damn it… I k-keep losing…" Gray's teeth chattered. It was colder than what he was used to. Both he and Karissa were shivering from the cold.

Lyon just smiled proudly. "Of course. I'm the senior here, so I'm way above you."

"O-Oh y-yeah?! We'll see about th-that, pointy eyes. I'll get better than y-you in no time." He shoved Lyon away from him.

"Keep dreaming, droopy eyes." Lyon shoved him back.

"Ahh, keep th-th-the fighting for wh-when we're back at h-home, okay?" Karissa stepped in between them. She really just wanted to go home and warm up by the fireplace.

Lyon just shrugged as he gave in to Karissa's plea while Gray just wrapped his arms around his small body in attempt to warm himself up. Karissa had her arms inside her jacket and inside her shirt, and did the same as Gray. Seeing her two students shiver like that made Ur chuckle softly.

"Are you two cold?" she squatted down in front of them.

"Wh-What does it look like?!" Gray scowled.

Ur reached into her jacket's pocket. Karissa noticed how round and bulky it was. Ur pulled out two dark red scarves from her pocket. She wrapped one around Gray first and then Karissa.

"This will warm you up a bit."

Gray hid his face deeper into the red fabric. "Y-You should have done that before." he muttered.

Karissa still kept her arms inside her clothes since it was somewhat able to generate more warmth. The scarf was definitely keeping her warmer too. "Thank you." she smiled behind it, her nose red from the cold.

Chapter Text

18 days had passed since Deliora's attack. Gray, Karissa and Lyon were currently at home minding their own business while Ur was out. In order to earn a living, she often took on job requests as a freelance mage. Whenever she did, the three of them would take the day off and stay at home since they couldn't go with her. It was dangerous. She usually wouldn't be gone for more than half a day but if she did, there was some food that was at their disposal. They weren't going to starve. They were also allowed to go train on their own outside if they wanted but they weren't allowed to go higher up the mountain, they need to stay within the house's perimeter for safety reasons.

Gray and Lyon did a bit more training on their own since they had nothing better to do while Karissa just stayed inside the house to draw. Ur had gotten her some art supplies from town a few days ago ever since she learned that Karissa liked drawing. She kept grabbing some paper she found and usually doodled with a pen that was sitting somewhere. She figured it would be better to get her some things that could let her have fun on her own. It was better than letting her and Lyon run around together since she didn't like sitting still and was always curious.

Because of how absorbed Lyon and Gray were in their solo training, they didn't come inside to eat yet so Karissa just ended up eating a sandwich by herself.

They came back while she was already back at drawing again.

"You're still drawing?" Gray said flatly when he saw her so focused on the piece of paper.

Karissa lifted up her head and looked at him, "Yeah, why?"

"Nothing." Gray said tiredly before going upstairs to change into some comfier clothes. Karissa just watched his back disappear from her sight as he climbed up the steps. She was worried about him. He wasn't exactly easygoing as he used to be before his world went to hell that night but that didn't stop her from trying to talk with him. Of course, she knew that he was angry that his parents died because of Deliora, she knew that Gray was still somewhat the same despite his grumpy attitude lately, she could see it, but she couldn't help but worry about his narrow mindedness on revenge lately. He was really itching to learn to powerful magic to beat Deliora. It was like it was all he thought about. She was just glad he didn't know where that monster was at the moment or else he'd be running off if he didn't know better.

He should lighten up a little bit.

Lyon, who came inside after Gray, saw the slightly dejected pout Karissa had before she went back to her drawing. He pursed his mouth when he glanced at Gray, just in time to see him disappear behind the door. He was always so crabby. The bluish silver haired boy cheerfully bounced over to where Karissa was and sat on the floor like her. He sat in front of the table on her right side so he'd be able to see her draw properly without having to sit next to her. There were several drawings on the table. He noted that most of them were of people. The one she was current drawing was one of her ice creations from the previous day. He saw her sitting on a log while he and Gray sparred in front of Ur. She was playing around with her molding magic to pass the time; she was passing the time with her imagination. An eight-pointed star surrounded by four pinwheels.

"Wow!" Lyon picked up a drawing of a boy sitting on a bench with a little jelly monster at its feet. "You're so good at drawing, Karissa."

"You think so?" Karissa looked up from the paper and gazed at him a bit startled by his sudden appreciation for her creativity. Lyon nodded vigorously he held up the drawing in front of her and pointed at it. "Better than me. I can't even draw like this." He held up the paper in front of him at arm's length to look at it once more.

"Hey, do you think you could draw me?" Lyon asked her with a grin.

"What, you mean like, you pose in front of me and I draw?" Karissa asked quizzically. "I can't do that." she shook her head rapidly. Gray, in a new set of clothes, came down the stairs since he was wondering what Lyon was boasting about this time. Karissa saw him come down and smiled at him a little before turning her attention back on Lyon.

"Nah, I mean like this." Lyon motioned his hands over the other drawings on the table. "I want see how you would draw me." Gray dropped himself in the couch behind Karissa. The girl was taken back by the sudden request, she never really drew a person before. She was used to drawing out images from her mind, and she felt more confident in doing so.

Karissa hunched a little and rubbed the back of her neck. "I dunno…"

Lyon frowned a little. He scooted a bit closer to her and held his hands up. "Come on, pleeease?"

Karissa felt nervous about the proximity and just leaned away a little. She pinched her sleeve and looked at her starry drawing. "Why do you want me to draw you?" she wondered curiously since he was so insistent.

"Because you draw so well! I'll be happy to get a drawing from you."

Karissa could feel her face get a bit warm from his bluntness. Lyon was friendlier than Gray and he was always smiling. It was pretty rare to see Lyon sad or depressed. He was always so eager to learn more from Ur, she had never seen someone like him before, so determined. She didn't know what it was but she thought he was pretty cute.

Gray, on the other hand, just scoffed when he saw the two interact.

"Um… I'll think about it."

"Aww—"

Just then Ur returned home from her job while carrying a bag of hygiene supplies. Upon seeing her, Lyon immediately got up and went to see her, asking her question about her job and how it went, he wanted to hear the details. Lyon was such a fan of Ur that he wanted to hear about her exploits on her jobs whenever he got the chance. Lyon had told them both confidently that he it was his dream to become strong mage and surpass Ur one day. According to him, Ur was the best mage to ever exist, and he wanted to be her successor.

In the morning, Lyon woke with a jolt when he felt an arm smack his face. With squinted eyes, he shot up in a sitting position and whipped his head around in a slight panic as if he was under attack. When he heard the soft snoring coming from next to him, he rubbed his eye and looked at Gray and found him in a messy sleeping position.

"Stupid, droopy eyes." Lyon complained before taking Gray's arm and flinging it back to his side. Startled awake, Gray narrowed his eyes at Lyon in annoyance. "The heck was that for, pointy eyes?!"

"You hit me with your arm!"

"It's not my fault, you were close to me!"

"I sleep here!" he pointed at his side. "You got into my space!"

"Well how was I supposed to know?! I was sleeping!"

Lyon huffed; he didn't see that as a good enough excuse. "Why do I have to sleep next to you!"

"Ask Ur!"

Karissa, who had her back turned on the, was gazing at Ur's empty space with immense irritation. It was one thing to have to deal with Lyon and Gray's arguing during the day but it was another when she had to deal with it first thing in the morning. Slowly, her patience was thinning as they kept on arguing with each other. Then she had enough. With a growl, she grabbed the pillows that belonged to Ur and herself before twisting around and chucking it at their faces. Gray's voice was muffled when Karissa's pillow collided with his face.

Gray ripped the pillow away from his face and glared at her. "What's the deal, Karissa—?! Oh… uh…"

Karissa just glared back at him. "If you guys want to fight, then do it in the living room! Or you can go outside to do it." she said lowly with her hoarse voice that just made a chill run down their spines. "I was sleeping." she hissed. "But you two woke me up…"

Lyon's lips formed a thin line and he looked away. "S-Sorry…"

"… Yeah… sorry." Gray muttered.

She's scary…

They could practically feel an aura of suppressed rage radiating off her.

"If you guys are done, then come down and eat already!"

The three of them looked at each other in silence.

Then they started running to the door, pushing each other.

"Move!" Lyon groaned.

"Get out of the way, you whale!" Karissa tried pushing Gray away from the door.

"Who you calling whale?!" Gray barked.

Down in the kitchen, Ur facepalmed and sighed. The two boys were often enough of a headache together but having three was sometimes too much. A few seconds later, Karissa came racing at the table with a smirk on her face. Gray and Lyon came into the kitchen afterwards but not without rubbing the back of their heads. She pulled their hair. It was a gentle tug, but it still hurt.

…

…

…

Lyon and Karissa wandered off together in their underwear while Gray was reviewing a lesson with Ur. He couldn't quite grasp something and Ur needed to go over with him one on one. Instead of just sitting there, the two decided to look around since they never go the chance to. Karissa always wanted to check out the places she passed by while they ran but Ur just told her not to since she didn't want her getting lost.

They ended up watching the Vulcans hanging out below. Karissa decided to be mischievous and decided to drop a small block of ice of one of their heads… which resulted in them running around, trying to look for them. Needless to say, Lyon and Karissa bolted back to Ur out of fear of getting discovered. They were laughing on the way back.

Obviously, they earned themselves a scolding from Ur for leaving her sight without saying anything.

It had been practically a month since Karissa and Gray were taken in by Ur. Their teacher had taught them the basics of ice molding magic which allowed them to eventually produce their own ice creations. Gray's type was Static Ice-Make magic while Karissa's was Static and Semi-Dynamic Ice Make. Static Ice-Make magic allowed the user to create inanimate objects and affect the environment around them while Dynamic Ice-Make magic permitted the user to create animated ice sculptures that did their bidding, that was Lyon's type of molding magic. Karissa's ice was like Gray's with the exception that she could actually move her ice around in an inanimate state for a while. Ur came to that conclusion when she made an ice boomerang that just flew around for a while. Apparently, her kind of Ice-Make magic was pretty rare since it was usually one or the other.

Ur had also taught them some hand-to-hand combat since it was also important to know how to defend one's body from close range when they couldn't cast magic fast enough. They were no experts at it but she made sure to teach them slowly like a good teacher.

…

…

Ur and Lyon watched from the sidelines as Gray and Karissa sparred together. Unlike the time they first trained with Ur, she was wearing her clothes this time since she didn't need to strip for today's training.

"Ice Make: Hammer!"

Karissa side stepped away from Gray's hammer and slammed her palm in her fist. "Ice Make: Four Blades!"

Four blades appeared behind Karissa in the shape of long diamonds, each with one longer side. She pulled her arm back and swung down. The four blades that levitated in the air followed her movement and pierced into Gray's ice hammer. The dark haired boy flinched when he saw how easily his hammer fell apart. He was frustrated that she was slightly better than him, but that never stopped him from trying harder.

"Ice Make: Shield!" He quickly cast his spell when he saw her point her arm at him. His shield was made up hexagons. Thankfully, he was just in time and they shattered upon impact.

Ur narrowed her eyes when she felt how much Karissa's magic power was being spent. It was obvious too by the way she was starting to get sluggish. "Karissa! How many times do I have to tell you? Ease up on the magic power, you're being careless!"

I know that! I know! I'm trying!, Kairssa thought sourly.

"She never listens." Lyon chuckled at her side.

Karissa just panted heavily and stared at Gray who was watching her carefully through the other side of his ice. Gray noted how tired she looked from casting magic. He could probably use that to his advantage.

The rules for Ur's sparring matches were simple. They could win the spar in two ways; the first one was to physically pin down the opponent while the second one was the land four hits on the other person using magic. Gray was already hit three times by Karissa while he only landed two hits on her. However, the state she was in right now made him confident enough to think that he could win by pinning her down. So, he made his move.

Gray dashed around his ice shield and started running towards her while letting out a shout.

Karissa grimaced and took a step back. She needed to make something to stop him from reaching her. It wouldn't count as a hit but it would help her stall time so she could just catch her breath. No, that wasn't going to work. He wasn't going to let her rest. She should just find a way to land another hit on him and get the match over with. When he started getting closer, she hastily put her fist in her palm and summoned up more of her magic power.

I feel dizzy...

"Ice Make: Wall!" She swung her arms upward and a wall rose up from the ground, stopping Gray in his tracks.

"Ahrg!" Gray ran around the ice wall and put his fist in his hand to prepare another spell.

Karissa was barely able to keep her eyes on him. She felt slower. Everything felt slow. She felt so drained. It was different compared to the first times she felt drained from spending too much magic power. Why was that? She felt lightheaded. The black haired girl pivoted around her heel to try and guard against whatever her friend was trying to throw at her. Unfortunately, her body didn't seem to agree with her sudden movements since the next second she felt herself falling forward.

Uh oh...

Gray stopped when he saw her crash on the snow, his magic power generating the ice around his hands stopped.

Lyon uncrossed his arms and dropped them when he saw her fall.

Alarmed, Ur quickly went over to her and went to check on her. "Karissa!" she kneeled down to grab Karissa's shoulder and shift her so that she could see her face.

The woman's eyes widened in shock.

Karissa was panting from her spar with Gray but she was doing so in a way that wasn't due to because of physical exertion or magic exhaustion. She was panting like she was sick. Immediately, Ur placed her hand on Karissa's forehead to check her temperature. Indeed, she was sick and she was having a fever.

Karissa groaned and just closed her eyes. "I feel… dizzy and tired." She mumbled. It was weird. This was the first time she felt like this during a training session. Did she seriously overdo it again after Ur told her so many times to be careful? Why couldn't she just do what Ur told her to do? She felt somewhat guilty.

"Is she okay?" Lyon asked worriedly. "What happened?"

"Karissa?" Gray called her name in concern. He was especially concerned when he saw how shaken up Ur was. Was it bad?

"Training is over for today. We're going home." Ur said urgently while looking at the two boys that were at her side. "Lyon, Gray, go get dressed. Lyon, give me her clothes, fast." Ur turned and walked back while carrying Karissa's body in her arms.

Her oldest pupil didn't need to be told twice since he was already running back to the pile of clothes. He snatched the girl's clothes and met Ur halfway to give her the clothes. Gray was jogging back to get dressed. He glanced at Karissa's face when he passed Ur. Her eyes were closed and she was still panting.

After putting Karissa into bed, she gave Gray and Lyon some clear instructions on what to do while she went out for a bit. They needed to give her some water and a cool towel for her forehead as it would be enough for now while she was absent. She needed to head down to town to get something to help treat her fever. Gray and Lyon were a little flustered at first about receiving the sudden instructions but they made sure to listen carefully since their teacher looked so serious about the matter.

Ur shut the door behind her and started running down the mountain. It was at that moment that she wished she actually lived a bit closer to town.

Honestly, she never thought she'd face this dilemma once more. The symptoms were the same as her daughter's. At first it was just a hunch, but now she was certain that she was dealing with the same problem. Karissa had been born with too much magic power. It wasn't that she couldn't control the amount of magic power she spent during training; she couldn't regulate it like the average mage due to the abnormal amount she had. She just didn't understand why she became ill now.

Ur would never send Karissa to the Bureau of Magical Development. She couldn't take the risk of handing her student over to the researchers who couldn't cure her own daughter in the past.

She was glad that the town now sold a formula in case of magic power inducing fevers.

…

…

…

Lyon gasped in horror when he dropped the glass of water. He had been so flustered about the situation that he lost his grip on the glass right after pouring it. He just stood there with his mouth open as the water spread on the kitchen floor and the shards of glass just sat there. Gray, who was in charge of getting a cool towel, appeared around the corner when he heard the glass break. He gave Lyon a look of disbelief, "Are you serious?"

"Don't just stand there! Help me!" Lyon carefully picked up the shards of glass after dragging the garbage bin next to him.

"Use the broom, It's faster." Gray put the towel on the kitchen counter and went to the storage closet where Ur usually kept her cleaning supplies.

"Aw, man… Ur is going to get mad at us…" Lyon groaned when he took the broom while Gray just angled the dust pan for him. The dark haired boy gave the older boy an incredulous look. "Yeah, right. That was your fault."

"You dunce, it's called collective responsibility!"

"Collective responsibility, my butt! Hey, you missed some."

After they cleaned up the glass, Lyon grabbed the towel that Gray had brought a few seconds ago and started heading for the stairs, saying that he would give her the towel while Gray cleaned up the water which Gray yelled at him for ditching him. He kept complaining until Lyon came back down to help him clean the rest of the mess. After that they gave her some water to drink. She drank it but then she quickly went back to sleep due to how weak she was. Afterwards, they just sat in the room and kept an eye on Karissa until Ur came back. Both were equally worried about her as she just kept breathing hard during her rest. Lyon kept fidgeting while Gray kept staring outside the window to check if Ur came back yet.

Gray frowned when Ur didn't show up in five minutes. He knew it a long way from town but he still couldn't but feel a tad bit impatient. He didn't know much about fevers but his mother once told him that it could get bad if the fever got worse. The last thing he wanted was his friend dying from a fever. He looked away from the window and slowly walked towards her before sitting down at her side where Lyon was.

"Is she going to be okay…?" he mumbled to himself.

"… I hope so." Lyon bit his lip as he stared at her face. The older student reached for the towel and flipped it around. "Hang in there, Karissa. Ur will be back soon."

"Hnng…"

…

…

She returned home twenty minutes later and went to check on Karissa before going down on preparing some food for her. Lyon and Gray tried to help any way that they could.

They didn't go back outside to train for the next two days for Karissa's sake. Ur kept a close eye on Karissa and made sure she was well. On the third day, her fever finally went down. But as a precaution, the four of them went to visit a doctor to make sure everything was okay with her. Gray and Lyon sat on two chairs next to each other while Karissa sat next to Ur in front of the doctor.

Karissa blinked when the doctor told her to step closer to him after he noticed something. Slowly, she slipped off the stool and stood straight. The doctor motioned with his finger to turn around and she did. She felt his fingers tug down the back of her shirt so that he could look at the bottom of her neck.

"Take a look at this." He told Ur while motioning her over. Ur stood up and looked to where the doctor set his fingers on Karissa's skin. The girl was just staring at the wall ahead, wondering what the doctor was seeing on her. She had to stop herself from turning her head to see since they wouldn't be able to see what was wrong with her.

Do I have some kind of infection or something?!

Just below the back of her neck was a faint black marking.

"Is it something I should be concerned about?" Ur asked as she stared at the marking on her student's neck intensely as she was obviously concerned.

"Before I became a doctor, I actually studied sigils, ancient writings and magic circles. This marking along with the scriptures on the side looks like a seal I once saw in one of my books."

"A seal?" repeated Ur, "What for?"

Karissa had a questioning look on her face as she stood still. Her eyes darted around the wall in front of her.

"If I remember correctly, these scriptures on the side here translates to the word 'power'. The marking over here is the main symbol for seals. I suppose that means that this seal was meant to seal away magic power within her. I guess you could say that your hunch about Karissa's magic power was correct. It's possible that her body just couldn't contain the sudden surge of magic power contained her body." The doctor pulled away his hand from Karissa and gently told her to sit back down. Karissa sat down obediently and just fiddled with her fingers nervously. She glanced at the other side of the room where Gray and Lyon were. Gray was just looking at some picture on the wall while Lyon was watching and listening to what was happening. The older boy smiled at her, making her smile back a little.

"It's possible that Karissa's parents must have placed the seal on her when she was younger." Ur said while looking at her. "You said that your parents used to be mages, right?"

Karissa nodded. "Yeah."

Her mother and father were quite skilled as mages, at least that's what she heard. She could never actually see for herself how strong they were. They only demonstrated their magic to her on several occasions that were usual for fun and for her own curiosity.

"The seal was probably meant to be broken at some point when she used her magic power."

The black haired girl looked at the doctor as Ur sat back down next to her.

"I don't think it's something to be worried about. The best advice I could give right now is to continue to let her train so that she can have a way to expel the magic power that her body isn't used to. There is no way for me to guarantee that she won't get sick again but she will get better if she does. With time, she should be able to handle it. When she grows older, she won't even have a problem with it since her body would be able to contain it."

Ur gazed thoughtfully at Karissa. The thing that piqued her curiosity was the question of how much magic power did Karissa's body possess in order for the eight year old to collapse so suddenly. If only she could measure it.

...

...

...

"So, am I like abnormal or something?" Karissa suddenly asked curiously in a blunt manner as they climbed up the mountain to head back home. She was staring Ur's back when she asked this question. The woman just chuckled when she heard her question and turned around to put a hand on her head.

"What, no." Ur ruffled her hair. "The doctor just said you're a bit different. It happens."

"So, she is abnormal." Gray said flatly. Karissa whipped her head in his direction and just flicked his ear harshly. He yelped and covered his ear. "Well, you asked!" he grumbled.

"I didn't ask you, weirdo."

"The doctor said you have more magic power than the average person at your age, I think that's pretty cool." Lyon piped up next to her. "I wish I was like you." He said with starry eyes. "I think it would help me achieve my dream!"

Gray rolled his eyes. He was so sick of hearing the same thing over and over again.

Karissa scoffed and gave Lyon a skeptical look. "I don't think you'd want it after getting sick. It's annoying."

"Well, you heard what the doctor said. You'd get used to it and then it would be no problem!"

"I guess…" she muttered. "But I still don't see the big deal in it though." She looked up at the sky above her and sighed, her breath coming out in a puff of white. She felt bad that training was stopped because of her. That sparring match between her and Gray was practically hers too. Now that she thought about, having more magic power than necessary might actually be beneficial since it could help her last longer in a fight. That brought an smirk on her face.

Lyon put an arm around her with a laugh, causing her to stumble from the suddenness. "But I'm just glad you're okay. I was worried about you when you suddenly collapsed on the snow."

Gray laughed mockingly at Lyon on her right side. "Yeah, you looked like you were about to cry or something."

Karissa sweat dropped. "Um—"

Lyon narrowed his eyes at Gray, "Oh yeah, droopy eyes? You looked like you were freaking out every time she made a sound in her sleep when Ur was gone! It's like you thought she was poisoned or something." he told him as he slipped off his arm off Karissa who just stared up ahead nonchalantly, already used to their bickering. She was standing between them but now she was standing on the left as Gray and Lyon went into another of their bickering sessions.

Not again, geez.

"Shut your mouth, pointy eyes!" Gray shouted, mortified for being exposed like that.

"Ha!"

Ur groaned, "Ugh, you boys are so noisy."

Karissa sighed. "You guys are so annoying sometimes." she complained before walking ahead to walk next to Ur instead, ignoring the two boys behind her. She tugged her arm and pointed at the two boys behind her. "They're so annoying, Ur!" she whined loudly with a grimace since the two of them were getting louder.

Ur shook her head with a small smile. Despite being headaches from time to time, she wouldn't trade them for anything else.

Chapter Text

Karissa held Lyon's hand as she walked with him to the warehouse.

Lyon held the door for Karissa so that she could slip in after him. When he made sure the coast was clear, he closed to the door quietly behind and walked deeper into the warehouse. They were in Ur's warehouse that was located not too far from her house. She had a lot of things inside but the thing that Lyon was so eager to show Karissa was the magic spell books that Ur kept in there. Karissa looked around curiously as Lyon went off to some shelf to grab some books that he talked about.

"Here, check it out." Lyon grinned as he carefully put them on the ground. He brought out like eight of them.

"These are all Ur's books?" Karissa sat down in a criss cross way and reached for a random book.

Lyon took a seat next to her. "Yep." Lyon picked up a book and started flipping the pages to show her a list of ice spells. "See, look at all these powerful spells!" he dragged his finger across the page to emphasize the list.

"Whoa." Karissa grabbed the book from him and started reading all the names of the spells. They were all ice based and not necessarily molding types.

Ur taught them ice molding magic, a form of ice magic. They were more experienced in the field of making ice not freezing things. When asked about if they were capable of doing simple ice magic, Ur had told them that it was indeed possible since they were ice mages themselves. They just needed to learn to do just like how they learned to mold ice.

"How come Ur doesn't teach us any of this? Aren't we capable enough to learn magic that is a bit stronger by now? All we do is reinforce the strength of our molding magic."

"I dunno." Lyon shrugged. "Maybe she still wants to wait before we learn them." He grinned and picked up a book from the pile and opened it. "I think it's not going to hurt to learn some powerful magic by myself. It'll give me to advantage when we finally learn it."

"Geez, Lyon." Karissa chuckled when she put the book down. "You're always trying to get ahead of us."

"Well, duh! I want to be her best student. If I'm not, how can I surpass her then?" Lyon said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Gray would definitely be interested in these books since he keeps complaining that Ur isn't teaching him real magic."

Lyon shook his head. "No, this stays a secret between you and me. He can't know about these books."

"Huh? How come?"

"… Ur doesn't know I come in here by myself…"

"But you let me in here."

"W-Well, yeah, I mean because I figured it wouldn't hurt to show you."

Karissa pursed her lips. "You and I both know that we're better than Gray, I could easily snatch away that dream of yours, y'know?" she said jokingly with a smirk on her face. But she knew that he knew that she wasn't going to do that to him. She worked hard to improve but she never did it in a way where she was aiming to be Ur's star pupil.

While Lyon was indeed Ur's star pupil so far, Karissa was actually just behind him since she was better than Gray. Lyon and Karissa's sparring matches always brought their number of victories to a tie while Gray rarely beat Lyon in his match. She supposed it was because he was good at using single handed molding magic even though Ur reprimanded him for it.

Lyon scratched the back of his head and looked away nervously. "Look, I just wanted to show you these books too, that's all. It has to stay our little secret no matter what!"

"Fine, fine." Karissa giggled before reaching for a book. "What's this? Punishment… of Absolute... Zero?" she angled her head in confusion while blowing the dust off the cover.

Lyon frowned. "I already looked into that one. It's pretty dangerous."

"Really? What does the spell do?"

Lyon took a book titled 'Iced Shell' and started flipping the pages until he reached a specific one. "It's supposed to freeze the caster's body to get powerful but it slows them down. It's a powerful spell but it has too many drawbacks, and it's dangerous. I didn't like it." He said while reading his page.

Karissa quirked an eyebrow.

What drawbacks?

She opened the book and started reading what it was about.

The Punishment of Absolute Zero.

For three minutes, the spellcaster's body temperature begins to drop significantly until they reach absolute zero. It has an area of effect due to how cold the spellcaster becomes. Anything they touch will freeze away. For the first minute, the spellcaster's body heat will begin to fade away. The second minute, they are the physical embodiment of absolute zero. For the third minute, they get a bit slower due to the numbness.

The spellcaster must slowly undo the spell to thaw out; the slightest mistake can harm the body.

If the user goes over the time limit, with every second, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop the spell, risking hypothermia. One must be very careful when using this spell.

Karissa cringed. It definitely sounded unpleasant. She could remember how cold she was when she first started training with Ur. She was so cold that she thought she was going to pass out and freeze to death by the end of their training. Now, she had resistance against the cold. She was slowly forgetting what exactly being cold felt like. Imagining freezing to death sounded so scary. Ur did say that it was possible to still get sick if they were exposed to extremely cold weather for far too long, they were still human after all.

"You're right, it sounds dangerous." She turned her head to look at him, expecting to find his nose in the book. Instead, she came face to face with him since he turned his head the moment she spoke. They both blinked in surprise before turning their heads away in a flustered manner.

"S-Sorry." Karissa mumbled.

"Don't worry about it…" he rubbed his nose while trying to hide his face.

This was bad. It was seriously no good for Lyon's poor little heart. He wasn't sure when it started but he was able to realize it one time when he sparred against her. It made him feel bashful around her since he didn't know how to act with these new feelings. His affection for Karissa just made him want to spend more time with her during their days off and experience a bunch of things together. Sharing his knowledge about Ur's spell books was a way to convey that feeling.

As for Karissa, she also liked him.

Their affections for each other had become apparent since Gray kept calling them gross whenever they stuck around each other and teased each other.

"Hey, can you close your eyes for a second?" Lyon mumbled.

Karissa perked up and looked at him while he still looked away. She was familiar with that phrase. With a giddy smile, she closed her eyes and waited. Then she felt it. He pressed a soft kiss on her mouth.

When she looked at him, she saw how bashful and happy he looked and she felt the same. They both grinned at each other.

This was a little secret between them. It started three weeks ago. Lyon was the one who started it when they were doing their usual thing: wandering off when Ur was giving Gray someone one-on-one lessons since he was having trouble with something. While they were just talking on the edge of the cliff, he asked her if he could kiss her. It shocked her but she still let him anyway, it felt funny and exciting. They were imitating what they saw adult couples do in town.

Lyon gasped when he saw Ur and Gray returning from the woods from a window in front of them. He bolted up and started gathering the books from the floor. Karissa just watched him bewildered while slowly handing him the book and asking him if he was okay. When he told her that Ur and Gray were coming back, Karissa was hurrying to help him put the books away. She recalled Lyon saying that Ur didn't know he came inside the warehouse on his own, she most likely wasn't allowed inside either.

Ur and Gray went into the woods to gather some firewood since they were running out. That was when Lyon took the opportunity to show her the books.

They nearly spilled the whole shelf from how fast and rough they were shoving the books back onto the shelves. They were like two little thieves trying to not get caught by the authorities. They were literally ducking around as they ran back inside the house. They were both flustered and acted like nothing happened when they sat on the couch together, pretending to read some random book they found on the table. It was one of Ur's novels, something they would never read in their spare time.

Lyon and Karissa looked at the book intently when they returned inside the house.

"What are you guys doing reading my book?" Ur asked them with a raised eyebrow.

"We had nothing to do."

"It looked interesting."

Lyon and Karissa looked at each other in a panic when the other's answer didn't match. They both looked at Ur and just chose to smile.

Ur gasped when she saw the bookmark on the table. "You took it out?! Ahrgh…" she facepalmed. "Whatever, I'll find the page later." Ur sighed when she removed her hand.

Gray and Ur dropped the firewood in the tray next the fireplace and he gave the two suspicious looks. He wasn't buying their claims, especially when he saw the two running like crazy back into the house. He didn't tell Ur though because he wasn't a snitch.

After getting firewood for the house, they went down the mountain to replenish their food stock. These trips down the mountain to reach the town always reminded Karissa of when she used to go to Grandell with Pandora and Van. As much as she hated walking there and camping outside, she had to admit that she actually loved it. Pandora always worked hard to earn money so it was a like the only time they could spend a lot of time together. It was their special bonding time. It was because of those memories that she enjoyed going down with Ur, Gray and Lyon to buy groceries.

Lyon and Karissa ran down the rest of the mountain when the town was meters away.

The three students would often end up just sitting somewhere while Ur went off to buy stuff from someone she knew.

"So, how come you two were running away from the warehouse earlier?"

Lyon and Karissa slowly looked at Gray who was just staring ahead of him. He glanced at them silently.

The black haired girl drummed her fingers on her lap. "Oh, you saw that? We weren't doing anything really… just looking around, right?"

Lyon nodded. "Yep."

Karissa didn't want to betray Lyon by exposing his little secret. However, she was sure that she might one day just let it spill to Gray when Lyon wasn't around. When that time would come, she'd have to find a way to convince Gray to keep his mouth shut about where he learned about Lyon's knowledge on powerful spells.

Ah, I don't like keeping secrets from Gray... I feel caught in the middle or something.

Gray didn't believe that for a second. He knew that they were hiding something from him. But if they weren't going to tell him then he wasn't going to be persistent about it. It was their business.

"Whatever, I bet you guys were holding hands or something in there."

Lyon and Karissa flinched and supported a blush on their faces.

"You guys are gross."

"Well, you're a weirdo!"

"What we do is none of your business, droopy eyes!"

After dropping off the grocery bags with her students, she quickly went into a bookstore to get herself a new book only to return and find her students munching on some fruits that they found.

"Seriously?" Ur deadpanned.

"We were hungry." Gray chewed his apple.

"It was Lyon's idea." Karissa snickered.

"Was not!" Lyon bumped her side with his shoulder. She did the same to him while popping a piece of orange in her mouth.

The three of them groaned when Ur knocked them square on the head with her fist.

"Don't eat the food!"

"Sorry..."

…

…

…

A young boy with black spiky hair that gravitate towards the right was looking around him. The girl in front of him with long black hair was his sister. He was accompanying her to the ticket booth since he didn't want to be left alone in a sea of strangers. They were getting ready to board the train that would bring them to the next country to the west: Fiore. There was nothing left for them in Iceberg. He and his sister had spent the past month and a half working for an inn in order to save up money for the trip and their living expenses when they finally left for Fiore. Still, leaving Iceberg was a big step. He adjusted the bag on his back and sighed.

"Van…? VAN!"

Upon hearing his name, the ten-year-old whipped his head around and looked for the familiar voice. He spotted a familiar lady with brown hair jogging towards him with a relieved smile on her face.

"Oh, Miss Lilith." Van smiled for her. "What are you doing here?"

His older sister turned to see what was happening behind her.

Lilith gave him a smile of her own. "I'm moving to Fiore. I cannot continue to stay in Iceberg out of fear of Deliora causing a rampage in Grandell. Thankfully, I have a relative who lives in Fiore so I don't need to worry too much about where to go."

Pandora gave her small smile that didn't reach her eyes. She hadn't been able to smile much these days. "I see, that's a safe choice."

"What about you three? Are you leaving as well?"

When Pandora heard the incorrect number siblings, she lowered her head and frowned. Van glanced at her and then put a hand behind her back to try and soothe her.

"I don't see Karissa, where did she go? Don't tell me she ran off." Lilith laughed as she remembered the several times Karissa would wander off on her own when Pandora wasn't looking.

"Karissa is dead…" Pandora said shakily. "She died back in our hometown because of Deliora…"

Van lowered his gaze and just stared at his shoes. No matter how many times they heard that undeniable truth, it was always so painful.

"We looked for her among the rubble, we checked the shelter, nothing." she prevented from saying what she truly thought: Deliora had literally destroyed her little sister and there was no trace of her existence. The only thing left of her was her bag that they found in the rubble when they went back to try and salvage some of their belongings. Her bag was carried in Pandora's hand as a way to try and soothe her own sadness of loosing her little sister.

"No," Lilith gave them a confused look. "That's just not possible. I saw her alive and well after the incident. I even spoke to her, she was asking for you."

Pandora and Van's eyes widened. They grew still when she said that, staring at her like she just grew another head on her right shoulder.

"What…?" Van finally spoke and lowered his hand.

Pandora dropped Karissa's bag and she slowly stepped closer to Lilith. When she was within reach, she held onto her arms desperately. "What do you mean?! Do you know where is she now?!"

A WEEK LATER

Karissa watched as Lyon sparred against Ur. Their teacher obviously went easy on him to give him a chance. She was amazed at watching them both. Ur was such an impressive mage while Lyon was clearly the better student (even though he kept using one hand to cast his spells, resulting in bumps on the head from Ur). Next to her was Gray breathing heavily, he had just finished his own little match against Ur but he was still casting spells to try and improve. She pursed her lips and stared at him with concern.

"You should take a break Gray…"

Gray wiped the sweat off his brow and glared at his hands. "I have to get stronger. I have to get powerful enough to beat Deliora. I can't rest."

"But you won't be able to cast stronger spells since you keep using your magic power…"

Gray got into his molding stance. "That's because Ur isn't teaching us any real magic aside from this stupid molding magic. Ice Make: Shield!" His shield barely even lasted three seconds, it expanded in front of him and instantly shattered away due to the poor amount of magic power given to it. Gray clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Ur said that it's our job to make it stronger." Karissa reminded him, causing him to roll his eyes. "Yeah, and you believe that ice witch?"

"Well, she is the expert here."

"Doesn't change anything. This has no use." he said nonchalantly before casting another spell and failing. Karissa frowned. "Gray, you seriously should rest. Don't push yourself."

"I'm fine."

"But you're going to feel super tired."

An angry vein popped on the side of his temple and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Geez, don't you have anything better to do but nag me?! You're annoying!"

Karissa didn't answer him, she just stared at him with a blank expression. The way he spoke to her made her feel offended. She didn't like it. What was his problem?! She quickly got up and kicked up snow in his face without hesitation, causing him to stagger and sputter. He wiped off the snow of his face angrily and glared at where she was. "What was that for?!"

JERK!

She just gave him a disgusted look. "I couldn't care less if you passed out and got forgotten out here. Stupid idiot!" She spat in frustration before walking off to nearby log. The girl could not comprehend why Gray had to be so mean to her when she was just worried about him.

That's what friends do, right?! GEEZ. It's always power this and Deliora that!

She understood his hate for Deliora was justified, she really did. It killed mister Silver and miss Mika! She missed them but that had nothing on the amount of sadness and anger that Gray felt, that's why she never tried to convince him forget about his revenge.

The boy just watched her walk away from him without saying another word to him. She sat down on the log and chose to watch Lyon and Ur spar from afar, and she didn't even bat an eye in Gray's direction. Yeah, he could tell that she was pissed off at him. When he began to simmer down from his initial annoyance, he felt it. He had used up too much magic power, he was tired. Still, even if he knew that she was right he was too stubborn to admit it.

The tension in the air was obvious when they walked home. It was thick. Lyon was walking in between Karissa and Gray. Normally, Karissa would be the one walking in the middle so she could stop any dumb arguments the two would start but she chose to avoid the middle by purposely moving to Lyon's opposite side. When Lyon spoke to Gray or Karissa, they would just mumble an answer without much interest. This resulted in the elder apprentice to shut his mouth since he didn't know what to say. Then it became so quiet. This prompted Ur to stop walking and turn to them. She placed her hands on her hips and looked at Karissa and Gray who both just stared back at her.

"What's wrong with the two of you?" she asked, her tone exasperated.

"Nothing." they answered at the same time.

"Did you guys get into a fight?" Lyon guessed while he looking back and forth between the two.

Karissa just shrugged like she didn't care while Gray just huffed and stuffed his hands in his jacket's pockets. Ur sighed. She went over to Gray and gently tugged his arm to pull him along and she did the same to Karissa until they were standing next to each other. Next thing they knew, Ur had pinched their noses and they let out a squawk of surprise.

"What gives?!" Gray batted her hand away from his face.

Karissa frowned and rubbed her nose.

"I can tolerate playful arguing but not fights like this. You two will just make things awkward at the dinner table later if you don't fix whatever happened between the two of you."

"…"

"C'mon, you two are friends. Why are you fighting?" Lyon wondered.

This provoked Karissa to snort mockingly. "This idiot finds his friend annoying when she's just WORRYING ABOUT HIM spending too much magic power. I mean if he wants to pass out and get buried under the snow when no one is looking then that's fine!"

Gray looked away in an obstinate manner. "It's not like I asked you to be worried." He mumbled which did not go unheard by her. The girl silently narrowed her eyes at him when he wasn't looking. When he did sense her looking at him, he shifted his head a little to glance at her and then he looked at the snow beneath him.

Karissa 'hmphed' before marching off with her head up. "Fine! I won't worry about you ever again!"

I don't need to deal with your stupid attitude!

She didn't get far since Ur just latched her hand on her arm to keep her from leaving. The girl stopped in her tracks and just pouted.

"Gray. You have to stop acting like such a rebel or else you're going to drive away others who care for you."

Gray slowly lowered his gaze to look away from his teacher.

"Trust me, you don't want that to happen. Especially with someone like Karissa who really cares about you. Those are the kind of friends you want to have in your life."

The boy sighed in annoyance and scratched the side of his head. "Okay, okay. I get it." He looked at Karissa who was just staring at him. "I'm sorry."

...

...

On the way back home, Karissa took her spot back in the middle which brought relief to Lyon since he was tired of getting squished by the tension between them.

Karissa was fiddling with her fingers as she reflected on their little fight. She knew that she could get excited and run around cheerfully whenever she had so much energy to spare, so it made her wonder if that just annoyed Gray since she knew he didn't like Lyon's cheerfulness. Had he grown annoyed and tired of her? Was she really annoying? She didn't mean to. Her status as his friend was now at stake.

…

…

"Gray?" she whispered.

The dark haired boy looked at her.

"I'm sorry if I'm annoying you." She said softly while looking at the snow while a bit sullen. Her voice sounded so small.

Now he was starting to feel bad. It was pretty rare to see Karissa look so down since she was rarely sad.

He lightly bit the inside of his cheek.

"… You're not annoying."

"… Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay."

"Stop looking sad, it's weird. I'm not used to it."

"Gee, okay. What, you want me to jump up and down?"

"Anything to get you to stop looking weird."

"You're weird, weirdo."

…

…

…

"Ugh, get off!" Gray wheezed.

Karissa was on top of him after the three of them finished setting up the futons. Ur was still downstairs washing the dishes so they decided it was better to just get ready for bed. After they set it up, Gray took the opportunity to get settled under the blanket but Karissa had a different idea since she just decided to roll and lay sprawled across him.

"You can't be seriously thinking of sleeping nowww." Karissa she drawled. Gray groaned and start pushing her off him since his small body couldn't handle her weight. She was taller than both boys thanks to some type of freak of nature growth spurt. After much struggling and wrestling, Gray was able to roll her off him and she ended up in the space between where Gray and Lyon usually slept. Lyon had to stagger back to avoid stepping on her since he was taking the rest of the pillows out of the closet that Gray didn't bother taking out.

Karissa sat up in a sitting position with messed up hair from the tussle. "Hey, Lyon pass me a pillow."

"Huh? Um, here."

"Thanks." She beamed him a smile which he responded by giving her his own smile. The other student who was still in the room watched the two with a cringe. Even if they were just smiling at each other, Gray found it icky since he knew the context behind it. He could probably see hearts flying around.

"Get a room." he complained before turning away from the two. He didn't really care that the two liked each other, he just wished they weren't so painfully obvious with it.

Lyon huffed in annoyance as he tossed Ur's pillow on her futon. "You're just jealous."

This only evoked a gagging sound from Gray. "Yeah right! I don't care."

Karissa sighed and flicked his ear, making him turn his head to glare at her. "There you go again getting all grumpy." She went to her side of the bed and got settled in next to him while Lyon did the same on the other side of Gray.

"Yeah, you're always grumbling." Lyon said while adjusting the blanket on top of him, tugging more away from Gray. "So dark."

Gray looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at him. "Shut it, pointy eyes." he pulled the blanket towards him.

Lyon smirked and returned his narrowed gaze. "Make me, droopy eyes." they started having a tug of war.

Karissa sweat dropped at the sight of the two having a stare off. Then they just turned their heads away from each other without another word spoken. This made the girl snort before turning on her side, away from Gray.

It had taken some time, but she had adjusted well to her new life in Ur's home. It was nothing like when she lived with Pandora and Van or with Silver, Mika and Gray. This type of home felt different but it was still home nonetheless. There was warmth that tickled her soul everyday. Almost every day was a new experience, making life adventurous and full of firsts.

She really adored Ur as her guardian. She was never her mother but she did see her as a mother figure. It once made her feel like she actually had a mother around again. The girl was so glad that she chose take the path of becoming a mage as she couldn't imagine having a better and exciting life back in an orphanage. At first, she felt a little self-conscious about not having a lofty goal like Lyon and Gray (even though his goal wasn't exactly a positive one). She had once expressed this concern to Ur while beating around the bush but Ur just told her that she was proud to have a student brimming with potential and that sometimes learning magic didn't need a goal, she just needed the desire to simply want learn. The girl embraced that simple truth and felt more confident with her identity as a mage. It helped her enjoy her days more with her two friends and teacher.

She really loved it here.

There was a slight blizzard that morning and it was colder than usual. The cold was actually getting into the house so they had to put on a fire in the fireplace. It was also one of those days where Karissa chose to spend her time drawing since she had nothing better to do. And for a change, Lyon and Gray were drawing too since they had nothing better to do. As molding magic mages, it was natural that they had a good sense of imagination. Lyon ended up drawing one of his snow tigers, Gray was drawing a sword and Karissa was drawing another one of her ice pinwheels. In a way, it was also giving them ideas about what other things they could make. They each had a cup of hot chocolate with them in the middle of the table. Meanwhile, Ur was reading her book in the kitchen next to the window. She often glanced into the living room just to watch her three pupils draw together, it made her smile.

This peaceful moment was disturbed when they heard a knock at the door. The flow of concentration was broken and the three of them looked at the door curiously.

"Who's that?" Lyon wondered curiously.

"Who would come up here in a blizzard… They have to be nuts." Gray tried tilting his head to try and look out the window. A futile attempt since snow was pelted on the glass.

Karissa just sat there. She wordlessly watched as Ur came out of the kitchen and walked to the front door to check who was there. However, she didn't really care enough since she went back to drawing.

When the teacher opened her front door, she found two kids shivering too much from the cold that they were not accustomed to. That was the first thing that made Ur realize that they were not from town. They both had black hair and dark brown eyes. The boy had spiky hair. The girl had medium length hair that was tied in ponytails that were brought in the front. The girl lowered her hood to show her face and she tried her best to smile politely as she trembled. Her bangs were split in the middle, allowing Ur to clearly see her face.

"A-Are you Ur?"

"Yeah, that's me. Can I help you?"

"W-We heard from the town below th-the mountain th-that you have three children with you…" the girl rubbed her hands together to try and heat them up. The boy next to her was fidgeting in his spot. "Are one of them called Karissa Sinclost?"

The matching black hair and dark brown eyes. A boy and a girl that were just a bit older than her students. It reminded Ur of what Karissa mentioned when she first found her with Gray after Deliora's attack.

"Are you Pandora and Van?"

Gray turned his head when he heard those familiar names. Karissa couldn't hear it from the blizzard outside. Lyon was just watching Ur speak with the two strangers outside their home.

Hearing their identities, Pandora and Van lightened up with hope. It was true then! They could believe that their sister was with the mage who lived up the mountain. It was just like they heard when they went around town asking for information about their younger sibling's whereabouts.

"Yes! That's us!" Van smiled hopefully.

They were here to reunite and take back their family.

As much as Ur would love to keep her student with her, she knew that she had no right to do so if her real family insisted on having her back. Her students were like her own children, so she hesitated for a moment before smiling at them softly.

Ur moved away from the entry and motioned them to enter, allowing them shelter them from the cold that they were not used to.

"Karissa." Ur called her name.

"Hmm?" she didn't look up.

Pandora and Van were hesitant to enter but they were reassured by Ur to come in. Inside, they found their little sister innocently sitting on the floor and drawing on the short table near a fireplace.

She was well and alive.

"Karissa!" Pandora exclaimed happily while dropping her backpack.

It took her a moment to realize just who had called her name. But when it clicked, she froze and then slowly lowered her pencil and looked up. There, standing not too far away from the table, was her older sister, she looked so relieved to see her. Her nose and cheeks were red from the cold nipping at her skin. Van lowered down his hood and smiled in relief when he saw her there.

The next moment, Karissa had bolted up from her spot and moved around the table to throw herself into Pandora's arms. The youngest sibling of the Sinclost family started bawling right there in her older sister's arms. Van sniffled and got on his knees when Pandora lowered herself to the ground to hold her sister tightly.

The three of them hugged together, their hearts mended from the pain of loss.

…

…

…

Everyone was in the living room. Ur had given Pandora and Van some hot chocolate to warm themselves up after being in the cold for so long. Gray and Lyon were sitting on the opposite couch where the Sinclost siblings sat.

"We passed by the area a day after the destruction and tried to look for her but we found nothing. Then we went to the shelter and waited for a day but still had no luck. So, the next thing we did is go back to our hometown and tried to find whatever we could salvage from our broken house before moving to Seven. We went to Seven with a bunch of refugees who needed a new place to stay. We ended up working in an inn for an entire month to earn some money. There was nothing left for us in Iceberg. We figured we would move to Fiore where it was a bit safer."

"It seems like you just missed us then." Ur concluded. "How did you find out Karissa was still alive?"

"There was a lady named Lilith who was also moving to Fiore who told us. She was the one who told us that she was with you. From there, we just started asking around until we found you."

"It wasn't that hard though." Van piped up next to her.

Pandora nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the people in Isvan spoke highly about you since you were the best mage around."

"That's an exaggeration." Ur waved her hand with a smile. "I'm sure there are more powerful mages around."

"That's not true! You're the best mage alive!" Lyon interjected proudly, earning him a ruffle on the head.

"I suppose that you are here to take Karissa with you to Fiore?"

Gray and Lyon looked at Ur silently when she said that. They didn't like where this was going. It was way too sudden.

Pandora nodded after taking a sip of her cup. "I faintly remember my parents telling me that they used to belong to a magic guild in Fiore before settling down in Iceberg. It was called Fairy Tail. Apparently, you don't need much to earn the right to join. It's a welcoming guild. I'm thinking that we could start off there and slowly start a new life."

Ur was familiar with guilds. She understood that its main purpose was to create a base where mages could gather and obtain job requests. It was a place where the members were supported by their fellow mages. She had also heard about that particular guild's master. He was one of the Ten Wizards Saints and he had a good heart. She had heard many good things about him. Someone like him would no doubt offer his aid to three children who wanted to join his guild.

Pandora must have thought this through a lot. She was quite mature for her age.

Ur gazed at Karissa and smiled at her. "Then I have no cause for worry."

She didn't have to worry about her student with such a responsible older sibling who knew exactly what she was doing.

Karissa wasn't sure how to feel about the whole situation. Of course, she was overjoyed by the fact that Pandora and Van were alive and well. She wanted nothing more than to start living with them again like before. But she also couldn't help but worry about the current life she would be leaving behind. Ur, Lyon and Gray were not going to be in her life anymore. She loved both lives.

"Karissa," Ur addressed. "You should start packing your things. I'll keep talking a bit with Pandora. Gray, Lyon, why don't you go help her out?" she nudged the two boys next to her lightly.

For once, they were quiet and just did as they were told. Pandora, sensing that Ur wanted to say something to her in private, also asked her younger brother to help by bringing up the extra backpack that was tucked away in his own backpack. There rest of their things were at an inn they stayed at. It was no longer in the room they rented; it was with the nice man who owned the place. He didn't mind looking after their things after they told him what they were doing. Van just shrugged and did what his sister told him to do and followed the three students upstairs.

Ur explained to Pandora what had happened to Karissa during one of her training sessions. To her surprise, Pandora didn't look quite as surprised as she thought she might have been. Instead, she was more surprised when she told her that they trained in their underwear out in the cold.

"Yeah, I'm aware of those seals." Pandora closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, a bit at a loss. "I'm the only one in the family who doesn't have one though. My father explained it to me once when Van got sick when he was just four years old. He was born with too much magic power for his body to handle, so they put a seal on him to control it. They did the same with Karissa and… er…" her words slowly died and then she paused. She quickly shook her head, giving up on finishing that sentence. "They both have seals since they have such an abnormal amount of magic power. I guess the reason why Van's didn't break is because he never used his magic power before."

Ur simply gazed at the table between them.

Their parents must have had possessed an incredible amount if they had to suppress that much magic power on their children…

"You sure you don't want to come with us, Gray?" Van asked while folding Karissa's shirts into a smaller form so that it would fit in her bag.

"I'm staying here." Gray said without hesitation. "I'm not done here. I still have to learn more powerful magic."

Van gazed at Gray silently with concern. He didn't want to ask but he had a feeling that Deliora must have done a on number on him if he looked like that. Gray no longer had to carefree look on his face that he remembered. His a little hard-faced despite the rather depressing air around him. He glanced at the other boy who was carrying all her pants and shorts with him from the drawer. They both looked deflated.

Lyon took a seat next to Karissa on the floor folded her pants neatly like how Ur taught him. He disliked how things had to be pragmatic. Reality could be so harsh.

Meanwhile, Karissa was just silently putting away the folded clothes in the bag after Van had shown her how.

The older boy in the room felt awkward. He couldn't stand such gloomy air around him. "It's not like you guys won't see each other again. Stop acting like it's the end of the world. I mean, like, you guys already know where we're going. You could always drop by one day in the future, I dunno. The world is pretty knall."

The three stared at him.

"What?"

"What's a 'knall'?" Lyon squinted his eyes.

Gray snorted. "It's 'small' not 'knall'."

"Whatever." Van groaned.

"I mean, I guess that's true..." Karissa stared up at the ceiling as she thought about what her brother said. She pointed at Lyon without looking at him. "When you surpass Ur, I could probably hear your name somewhere since you said she's like the best mage in the world. We'd probably have no problem seeing other again if we try."

Hearing that logic, Lyon perked up. "That's true."

She looked away from the ceiling and then looked at Gray. She smiled at him. "And one day you could probably join Fairy Tail too! Wherever that is…" she trailed off with a giggle, already liking what potential future they might have.

"Yeah, who knows. Maybe. We won't know until I beat Deliora."

"You gotta think about it though!" Karissa insisted, desperately wanting to hear some type of reassurance of their potential future reunion one day. "You just have to! I wanna see my friend again!" she complained.

"Err…"

"C'mon Gray, at least promise me that you jerkbag!"

"Who you calling jerkbag, weirdo!"

She pouted childishly.

"Yeah. I promise."

Karissa shot her arms in the air. "Yes!"

Van snickered at how easy it was for them to cheer up a little.

The future was always uncertain, no one could possibly know how the future would lay out their potential reunion. The only thing they could do was simply grasp onto that hope and just believe in the next time they would meet. It was all they could do.

It didn't take long for the light blizzard to clear. When it did, Ur had offered to walk them down the mountain just in case they got lost since they couldn't retrace their steps or if the paths might be covered in snow. Karissa was wearing the gray beanie and the black and white checkered scarf that Ur gave her long ago when she wasn't used to the cold. Even thought she insisted that she wouldn't feel cold, Pandora didn't listen to her and just plopped her hat on her head and wrapped the scarf around her. Karissa couldn't help but feel pampered.

When they got into town, Pandora and Van went into the inn and brought out the luggage that they left, there was only two of them. Then, they finally made it to the entrance of the town, indicating the time to finally part ways.

"Take care of yourself, Karissa." Ur smiled at her. "Don't cause too much trouble for your siblings." she chuckled.

"Hey." Karissa pouted.

Van nudged her side with his elbow. "We're used to this kid, it's fine."

Karissa lightly pushed him away for that.

"See?" Van laughed while fighting her hands.

Pandora bowed in respect for Ur. "Thank you so much for taking care of my little sister."

The dark purple haired woman remembered something. She reached for her back pocket and pulled out a brown envelope. She held it out to Pandora who just looked confused about its contents.

"It's money."

"O-Oh, no! I can't just take it…"

Ur sighed and grabbed her hand to firmly plant the envelope in her palm. "You'll be spending more money than what you planned for the trip to Fiore because Karissa is tagging along now. You told me that you worked these past two months to earn money for the trip and for living expenses, I'm just helping you maintain enough funds."

As much as Pandora hated to rely on people's kindness out of fear of looking pitiful or taking advantage of their kindness, she knew that Ur was right. Now that Karissa was coming along, the money she planned on saving for when they were in Fiore was not going to be enough.

Pandora bit her lip and closed her fingers on the envelope. "Thank you…" she said, grateful for the woman's kindness. Perhaps it wasn't always wrong to accept what others gave her. She put the envelope inside her bag.

Karissa waved her hand at both Gray and Lyon who could only offer small smiles and a wave of their own.

Ur stood with her two pupils as the three siblings departed from the town and headed to Seven. Karissa was holding onto her brother's hand as they walked and she just listened to her sister give the details of their traveling route with the map she carried.

Karissa's heart was racing.

She glanced back and saw that the three of them were turning back to walk back home.

Van looked at his younger sister when he noticed that she was dragging her feet. "Karissa? What's wrong?"

Karissa kept watching them.

"Um…"

"Hmm?"

The black haired girl bit her lip. The next second, her small hand released her brother's, she started running back towards the town with all her might. She ran like crazy. Van let out a surprise yelp when she just ran away from him. She could hear her brother and sister calling her name but she didn't stop. She kept running and running to catch up to them.

Gray, who heard Karissa's name being called and the sound of footsteps coming at them from behind, glanced over his shoulder and gasped a little when he saw her bolting after them. Ur and Lyon had already turned around and they saw her. The master of the three students lowered herself down to Karissa's level when she saw her running up to her with her arms stretched out. She let out a small 'oof' when Karissa ran into her.

"I'm going to miss you, Ur…" Karissa admitted with tears. "I want to stay here and keep learning magic with you."

Ur just sighed and chuckled lightly when she felt her student hug her tightly. The woman rubbed the child's back. "I know. As much as I want to let you stay, you know that I can't, right?"

Karissa nodded.

"You belong with your family."

"I know..."

"And as for magic, I don't really need to teach you. It's like I told you, molding mages are powerful because they create their own style. As long as you keep refining your style, you can become as powerful as you want." Ur pulled away from Karissa and held her arms. She wiped away the stray tears that fell. "You're going to be a wonderful mage. Make me proud even if I don't watch over you."

"Yeah, okay." Karissa sniffled, trying to calm her emotions.

Van and Pandora stood at the town's entrance, waiting for her.

She went over to Lyon and hugged him tightly after Ur released her. The bluish silver haired boy hugged her back just as tight.

"I'll miss checking out stuff with you and sparring against you during training."

"Even though I always kick your butt?" Lyon laughed.

"Oh shush, we have a tie." She pulled away and gave him a playful frown.

"Then we'll fight again when I see you again." The older boy grinned. "And I'll beat you."

"You bet! But I'm going to win."

Gray let out a surprise shout when he felt Karissa practically glomp him into a hug. It nearly gave him a heart attack. She was hugging him so tightly that he had to pat her back harshly so she could let him breathe. She pulled away her head so she can look at him in the eye.

"I'll miss you Gray. Like really."

She was seriously going to miss him. Gray was her best friend, so parting ways with him made her a little sadder since he's been with her the longest. She's known him for two years and he was literally the closest friend she had back in her hometown. Other girls her age found her weird since she was the outgoing type of girl who enjoyed playing with boys, that was something that somewhat hurt her but it never stopped her from acting like herself. It didn't really matter to her anyway since the girls in her hometown would rather sit around and talk, pretty boring activity for her. There were guys she was friends with but none were able to become close friends with her like she did with Gray.

He never minded her personality since she was more fun to hang around. Her gender didn't matter to him at all.

From the closeness, Gray's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He averted his eyes away in embarrassment.

"Will you miss me too?" Karissa asked hopefully, with hidden uneasiness. She knew that Gray didn't like to say mushy type of things since it was embarrassing, but she was hoping he would just this once. She wanted to hear how he truly felt.

"Of course, I will." Gray replied without missing a beat, he just mumbled it though. "You're my best friend."

Hearing that just put the biggest smile on Karissa's face. She held him close to her again giddily, and this time, she felt him return her hug.

One day we'll see each other again. For now, goodbye.

Chapter Text

It took them five days for them to complete their journey to Fiore. This time, they were able to afford the train and shorten the traveling time thanks to Ur's help.

During the whole trip, Karissa was able to see so many new things from behind a glass window. She saw several creatures she never saw before. She saw a lot of four-legged animals but the thing she remembered clearly was the weird family of jelly monsters just hopping away together. She nearly asked her sister if they could stop to observe them closely.

Whenever they stopped to catch a new train, Pandora had to keep a close eye on her little sister since she kept trying to look around the unknown area. Van was the one who had to go fetch her and drag her back when the train was a minute away from arriving. They couldn't blame her for wandering off with her own curiosity, she couldn't really do anything on the train aside from drawing and talking. After that, she'd end up wanting to walk around the train to find something interesting to do.

They were once able to keep her busy by showing her a photo album that they were able to salvage. Not all the pictures were inside since they had fallen out and some were a bit damaged since they found them out of the album. Pandora and Van were also able to salvage some personal items that they wanted to keep, it wasn't much but it was better than nothing.

Karissa also used the commuting time as an opportunity to show her siblings what she learned with Ur. She chose to do something easy and created small stars. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw it the first time.

It was the first time any of them learned magic. Seeing her magic up close made them feel excited about learning magic themselves. Since they were planning on joining a magical guild, they might as well play the part too.

Pandora mentioned once that their parents told her that, just like them, they had the affinity to magic, giving them a chance to learn if they so wished it. Pandora and Van occasionally felt magic power but they just never took the opportunity to train themselves and learn magic since they never needed it.

Van was actually able to use magic for a brief moment when they were waiting for their train. He had asked Karissa how she was able summon magic in the first place since he was bored. She just gave him the basics on how to feel magic power inside of him so he could use it. He was confident that nothing would come out of him but he still tried anyway.

But then Pandora, Van and Karissa screamed simultaneously when the pavement suddenly cracked under his foot.

Whenever it was time to sleep on the train, Karissa had asked for her stuffed animal that they kept after finding her bag. She slept in her sister's lap who just leaned her head against the window while mindlessly playing with her sister's hair, a gesture that easily made the younger girl feel sleepy. Van had the privilege of hogging all the space on the seats in front of them by lying down. The three of them slept with the blankets that the train's staff gave them.

When they finally arrived in Fiore, five days had passed. They stopped in a town called Clover. From there, they asked for directions in order to find the guild Fairy Tail. It was located in a town Magnolia. Karissa learned from her sister that Magnolia was a type of flower. They took a train from Clover that brought them all the way to the town of Magnolia.

...

...

...

Karissa watched the other children her each run around in the streets happily. The atmosphere in the town was just as peaceful as the town at the bottom of the mountain where Ur lived atop. However, Magnolia was brighter and more colorful, it was probably because there was more nature around due to the lack of snow. They walked further into the town and came across a large cathedral.

"Hey," Van nudged Karissa's side and pointed to his left. Karissa looked at where his finger pointed and found a man giving a picture book story time to a bunch of children that gathered around. Curiously, Karissa drifted away from her siblings when Pandora was busy trying to ask someone for directions. Van had to follow after her to keep his eye on her.

Karissa stood behind the other children and looked at the pictures that the man was showing to the kids. She wondered if he drew it himself. She recognized the story he was telling: it was Hansel and Gretel. He plucked away the picture, revealing an illustration depicting a house of candy. Then, he lifted his hand and his picture started glowing. The next second, the candies that were in his picture appeared in the air, prompting all the other children to gasp and cheer. A piece of candy landed in the children's hands, one for each. Van and Karissa each got a piece too.

Van blinked and just stared at the piece of chocolate. Cautiously, he lifted it up to his mouth and bit it. Immediately, he pulled it away and gave it a shocked look. It was real! He looked at his sister and found her with a green lollipop in her mouth while staring back at him.

"It's real." Karissa said in awe.

"Crazy right?"

"Uh-huh."

They chuckled together.

"Hey! You guys, don't run off!" Pandora shouted at them from behind. They both flinched and scurried away from the storytelling gathering to join their sister who had her hands on her hips as she watched them come back.

"Where'd you get that?"

Van pointed at the man telling the picture book story. "That guy used magic and made candy appear from his drawings."

"You just took the candy and ate it?" Pandora gave him a look.

Van and Karissa glanced at each other silently. The middle child broke off a piece of his chocolate and held it out to the eldest, "You want some?"

"What, no! You can eat it." Pandora pushed his hand away. "Just don't keep accepting candy from strangers!"

Van pouted and gave his sister stink eye. "Geez, you make it sound like I always do it."

"It's... magic candy?" Karissa piped up. "It's gotta be safe." She grinned while showing her green lollipop. "I got an apple flavored candy."

Pandora sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, let's get going. The Fairy Tail guild is just up ahead."

Van and Karissa took their belongings that they left on the ground near their sister.

"Where?" Van put his backpack on.

"Over there." Pandora pointed ahead. "See that brown building over there?" Van and Karissa huddled closer to their sister to see where she was pointing. Far away from the cathedral, there was a large building that was probably almost taller than the cathedral itself. They couldn't really tell since it was so far.

"We just need to go there and we'll be at Fairy Tail."

"Finallyyyy." Karissa groaned in relief. "I'm tired of all this traveling..."

...

...

...

The three of them took their time heading to the Fairy Tail guildhall. Karissa and Van were practically sight seeing in Magnolia. They kept stopping every now and then to check out a store's products through the windows. Pandora joined their little sight seeing since there was no rush. Eventually they made it. The three of them stood in front of an impressive building with the name Fairy Tail written on a board.

Karissa narrowed her eyes at the orange banner that depicted some type of symbol.

Looks weird.

"Van, look! There's a weird bird up there."

"Where?"

"Come on. We're going inside."

Pandora pushed the doors open. The first thing they heard was joyful chatter and laughs before finally looking inside. Instantly, eyes were on them. Karissa gripped her brother's arm and kept looking at the floor while walking inside. She felt so shy about having the attention on her. Normally, she would have bathed happily in it but these were a bunch of strangers who were just ogling at them.

"Geez, what's their deal?" Van whispered to his little sister at his side. "We're not a circus crew!" he muttered.

Karissa giggled at the irritation in his voice. She reached up behind his head and lightly nudged him.

Pandora walked inside with her head up high, ignoring the stares. She saw a little old man sitting on top on a counter and he was looking at her curiously. Somehow, she felt like she could ask this man about joining the guild, any information would be good. She gave him a friendly smile when she got closer.

"Hello, sir."

"Hm, hello there. What brings you to this guild?" he smiled at her.

"We want to join this guild." Pandora told him hopefully. "Is there anyway we could join? Who is the boss here?" she tilted her heard.

The little old man let out a hearty laugh. "You're speaking to him right now. I am Makarov Dreyar, the guild master of Fairy Tail."

"Oh, dang! Seriously?" Van's jaw dropped. He obviously just judged him based on appearance since he didn't think an old man would be the one in charge.

Makarov just grinned at them for being surprised. "You want to join this guild? It would be my pleasure to let you join."

"Really? Just like that?" Pandora was baffled. "You don't need money to join?"

"Of course not." he waved his hand dismissively. "Recently, we've been getting quite a lot of young members and I don't ask them to pay any admission fee."

"What about magic?"

"You'll be fine without it for now but it would be preferable if you learned how to use magic later on in the future if you want to take on jobs from the request board." He pointed at the large brown board on his right. "That is the reason why guilds exist in the first place."

Pandora nodded. "That was one of the reasons I had in mind when I decided we would join a guild."

Karissa turned her head and found four people standing in front of the request board. She saw someone snatch a paper from it and with an excited grin.

Van was speechless. He heard that it didn't take much to join but he wasn't expecting non-existent requirements. It seemed too good to be true.

Makarov called over a random member named Presa and asked for the insignia stamp. He told them to choose a part of their body where they would like to have the Fairy Tail guild mark. It would be proof of their association with Fairy Tail.

"What are your names?" he asked when Presa stamped Pandora on her right thigh, revealing a magenta Fairy Tail mark. Pandora was looking at it with fascination. She tried scratching the mark with her finger to see if it would come off.

"I'm Van Sinclost." The boy stated, he looked at Presa and pointed at his left shoulder, asking for one in purple. "She's Pandora and that's Karissa."

Makarov perked his head up at the sound of the familiar name. He pointed his finger at Van and moved his finger back and forth between the three of them. "You said Sinclost? You wouldn't be children of Zack and Domilia would you?"

Pandora silently gazed at Makarov when he mentioned her parents' names.

Karissa looked up from her cerulean insignia that was placed on her right waist. "You knew my mommy and daddy?"

"Of course, I did. They were members of my guild." Makarov lowered his hand with a small smile. He had heard what had happened to the two. They had died and left no trace of their existence behind. He didn't hear anything about any children they might have left behind in this big world.

But here they were standing before him.

Van stared at the old man and wondered just how old he was.

"No wonder you struck me as a bit familiar when you came in." He told Pandora, his hand under his chin. The older girl looked at him in confusion and just dumbly pointed at herself. "You were their first born. You were born in this town before they decided to move away from Fiore."

"Oh… really?"

"I remember the day you yanked on my mustache…" Makarov stroked his mustache with a painful look on his face.

Van let out a loud snicker which made Pandora whip her head and glare at him. Meanwhile, Karissa had her lips in thin line while staring at her sister like she just committed a most grievous crime. Pandora sheepishly looked back at Makarov and then scratched her cheek with her finger.

"… Um sorry about that but I don't remember."

"Well, I don't blame you. You just turned four at the time." Makarov shuffled closer to the edge of the counter before landing with ease. "Now then, I suppose I should show you where you'll be staying since you have no where to go. I could use the little stroll." He smiled at them and motioned them to follow after him.

They followed Makarov out of the guild, they were walking further away from the guildhall and soon noticed two standing buildings from afar.

He told them that there were two dormitories for members who needed a place to stay, one for the boys and one for the girls. Fairy Tail wasn't just some guild where they gathered to take job requests, it was also a home. Ergo, he decided to create the dormitories. Karissa never imagined living in a house filled with a bunch of other people inside. It kind of made her nervous.

"Is it not possible to for us to live together?"

Makarov stopped and looked at Pandora. He sighed a little, making her avert her eyes. "Sorry, I'm just so used to taking care of Van and Karissa."

"We're not little kids anymore." Van muttered.

"Hmm… you must have been carrying a lot of responsibility to care for your family. I admire that sense of responsibility but now that you are here, you don't need to always be so focused on your brother and sister. From now on, you are going to be surrounded by people who will grow to care for them just as much as you have. You won't be alone in looking after them anymore. But that's only if you allow them to be cared for by others."

He was telling her to not shelter them away.

Pandora bit her lip. "But…"

"Let others look after you as well." Makarov put his hands behind his back. "I'm sure that's what Karissa and Van would want for you."

Karissa glanced at her sister who was just staring at the ground. She shuffled her feet as she approached her, and then she shook her arm lightly. "He's right. You always do so much for us. So, like, take it easy, yeah?"

"Karissa…"

The older sister looked at her brother to see what he had to say. But all he did was smile at her silently, agreeing with his little sister. They didn't want her to always carry the burden of taking care of them all by herself.

Van reached for his little sister's head and ruffled her hair for saying what he thought. Karissa narrowed his eyes at him and pushed his hand away, making him laugh. Honestly, sometimes she just wished he would stop messing up her hair all the time.

It was going to be tough to try and reprogram herself to not always be there for them now and thinking about money all the time now that other people would be involved in making sure they were okay.

Pandora lowered her head. "Yeah, okay."

They continued walking to the dormitory and Makarov gave them more information. He told them that the second floor in the guild was off limits to them since they were not S-Class, it was a ranking given to mages who have shown their exceptional magical prowess. They held an annual trial for people who are candidates for S-Class rank. Hearing about how the reward for those jobs usually rewarded a lot of money made Pandora's eyes sparkle a little. Yeah, her desire to earn money wasn't going to go away that easy.

Their rent for their room in the dorms, which was 100,000 jewels, is covered until the age of fourteen, and until they age of fifteen only half is covered. Makarov reassured them that the jobs they get at the guild would definitely allow them to earn 100,000 if they worked hard. So, they didn't need to start panicking about the future just yet.

Makarov said it was important not to rush young members to venture out of Magnolia due to the pressure of needing to earn money. He saw his guild members as his own children, meaning he wanted to make sure they could properly prepare to take care of themselves when they went out on a job. He didn't want them going out while they didn't feel confident.

Karissa couldn't help but feel touched by his concern for younger members like herself.

They were going to get allowances through the head of their dorm. Hearing that part of the expenses made Karissa and Van smile a little. She was glad that they wouldn't be a tight financial situation anymore while he was looking forward to actually spending his own money on things he wanted. He was already making a list of potential things he could buy.

When they reached the point where the path was diverging, Makarov let them head on by themselves and told them that Presa had notified the head of each dorm of their arrival, it made Van wonder how the heck she told them since she never left the guild.

Van was a little uneasy about going in by himself but he forced himself to go on his own after Karissa started teasing him for being a chicken. Karissa could have sworn she saw his fingers trembling. When Karissa and Pandora arrived at the front doors, they were greeted by a little old lady. Her name was Hilda. The old lady practically pushed them inside the dorm, telling them that they should hurry up and get to their rooms and unpack instead of standing outside and waiting for the sun to set. Unfortunately, Pandora and Karissa's rooms were not on the same floor. Pandora was on the third while Karissa was on the second.

After Hilda brought them inside, the first thing they noticed was people in the lobby. Some were standing and talking while others were sitting on the couch playing a board game. When the residents saw them for the first time, Pandora and Karissa were targets of curious stares. Most of the staring came from younger members. It was just like Makarov said, there were many young members. The two sisters did their best to ignore the staring but the older one had to smile politely to give others a friendly impression. They climbed up the stairs together until Karissa had to find her own room on the second floor. She insisted that she would find it on her own as soon as Pandora asked her if she needed help.

Karissa found her door quite easily since there was a piece of paper attached to it with her name on it. With her two bags, she glanced over her shoulder and checked to see if anyone was watching her. She couldn't help but feel anxious about being watched. She couldn't help it since she was in a place that she wasn't familiar with. Her fingers grabbed the paper when she thought of ripping it off her door but they froze when she worried about the consequences. She wasn't sure if the matron would approve of her taking it off yet since she just arrived. She didn't want to get scolded by that old lady. After all, she wasn't exactly rainbows and sunshine when she greeted them at the front.

With a sigh, she turned her doorknob and peeked inside.

The first thing her dark brown eyes spotted was the bed at the other end of the room that was right under a window. The window had a light brown curtain with floral patterns, it looked antique. When she stepped further inside the room, she saw a white desk placed against the wall on her right. It had three drawers on the left side. She looked to her right and found a long framed mirror just tilted back against the wall. It was next to a closet that was near the foot of the bed. In the middle of everything in the room was a brown fluffy carpet.

Her room was really simple. It was probably going to stay simple for a while since she didn't really have anything to add as decoration.

Karissa dropped her bags on the side and just kept turning her head to stare at her new room. The only thing she didn't like about it was the fact that the bed was right next to the window. She didn't want to have sunlight on her face in the morning. The first thing she wanted to do before anything else was move around the furniture like the way her room used to be back in her hometown. She wanted her desk to be on the opposite wall, and then she wanted to have her bed take its place in a parallel manner. She wanted to sleep next to a wall.

"Might as well start now before anything else." Karissa sighed. She practically kicked away her bags lazily into a corner on the other side of the room to make space. She picked up the brown carpet and rolled it up before setting it down in the same corner.

"I wish Van was here to help with this…" she groaned as she started pushing her bed away from the window with difficulty. Thankfully, it was only sliding against the floor and not scratching it thanks to some pads under the legs. It made the job slightly easier. When the bed was parallel against the wall while not touching it, she moved around to face the longer side and literally shoved it against the wall with her foot, creating a loud thump on the wall.

"… Okay… now the desk."

She stared at it for a moment. Her bed and desk were both against the same wall.

Maybe I should have moved the desk first…

She was worried about having limited space if she wanted to turn the desk when she moved it.

"Whatever, I'll figure it out." She mumbled to herself with a sigh.

The black haired girl pulled the chair away and set it aside in the corner before tugging on the desk. It was a bit difficult since the desk was heavier than the bed.

All of a sudden, she heard a knock at her door. She froze.

Oh god I hope that it's not that old lady!

Karissa looked like a deer in headlights.

"C-Come in…?"

After allowing entry to whoever was on the other side, her door was pushed open without the turning the doorknob. She realized that she didn't even close her door properly. The brown door opened and Karissa didn't dare to move a muscle, bracing herself for a potential scolding. In the milliseconds of the door fully opening, Karissa was regretting moving the furniture in her own room.

Maybe there's a rule here that says I can't move stuff.

Oh man. We just got here and I probably broke the rules.

I'm going to get kicked out of Fairy Tail… I'm gonna have to live in a box in the streets or something!

Instead of an old lady screaming at her, she found a girl, that was probably around her age, poking her head inside her room with a curious look on her face. Karissa relaxed a little. Just a little. The girl had dark brown hair with matching colored eyes. She was wearing an orange plaid summer dress.

The girl looked surprised to see her there.

Karissa blinked.

Um…?

The girl's surprised expression was easily replaced with a friendly smile. "Hi, there."

"… Hello." Karissa answered dumbly.

"Are you Karissa?"

Karissa wanted to answer sarcastically considering that her name was literally outside her door but she chose to hold her tongue.

She opted to nod her head instead.

The brown haired girl opened the door wider so that she could properly show herself to the black haired girl. "My name is Cana. I live in the room next to yours." she pointed at the wall on Karissa's right where her bed was currently against.

This made Karissa start to sweat since she figured that must have been making too much noise.

Oh nooooo…

"Sorry, I just heard some noise when I was in my room and I was wondering what was going on in here." Cana laughed sheepishly.

"Sorry about the noise." Karissa puckered her mouth a little from the shame. She put her fingers on the edge of the desk and held onto it tightly as if to suppress her embarrassment.

Cana looked at the way her desk was awkwardly angled in the middle of her room. She pointed at it, "Do you need some help?"

"Um…" Karissa scratched the back of her head. She thought that this Cana girl was just going to pop in her head and just leave. Help from her was the last thing she expected. "If it's okay with you. It's pretty hard to move it around."

"The desks here are pretty heavy to move around. I get it." Cana laughed at that and closed the door behind her when she walked inside. "I had to ask for some help from other girls in the dorm when I wanted to move around my stuff." She stood next to the desk and hovered her hands. "Where do you want to put it?"

Karissa pointed at the left wall. Without another word, Karissa and Cana started pushing the desk together towards the left wall until it touched it. They gave one final push to make sure it was properly against it.

"There we go." Cana put her hands down to her side. She looked at her and gave her a small grin. "Do you have anything else you need help with? I don't really have anything else to do at the moment. I could help you put your stuff away."

Wow, she's nice.

Karissa just sighed and lazily glanced at her bags in the corner. "I don't really have a lot of things. It's mostly just clothes. I lost most of my stuff when my hometown got destroyed."

Cana gaped. "Oh, geez. That's terrible. Where was your hometown?"

"In Iceberg."

The brown haired girl gave her a shocked look. "And you came all the way to Fiore from Iceberg? How did you do that?! I could never travel that far… it seems impossible."

Karissa grinned proudly. "My older sister brought me and my brother all the way to Fiore. She's really smart and stuff. She's the one who came up with the idea to come to Fiore and join this guild since my parents used to be part of Fairy Tail before they died."

"Wow… how old is your sister?" Cana asked curiously. "Sixteen?"

"She's thirteen."

"Whoa." Cana stared at her in awe. The brown haired girl was curious as to why a thirteen year old was traveling to Fiore all the way from Iceberg. But she figured that Karissa and her siblings were one of those children who ended up being orphans. It actually wasn't rare to find orphans in the guild lately. It was just a hunch but it's what she felt.

Cana remembered that Karissa was literally a new member that was joining their guild. She didn't know anyone in the dorm.

"Hey," Cana spoke as Karissa went over to the carpet. "After you're done, I'll give you a small tour around the dorm." The brown haired girl offered.

"A tour?"

"Yup. It won't take long."

"Um, sure."

A tour right away? Aahhh, Cana is nice.

With Cana's help, she put her clothes away in her drawers rather quickly. The only thing that 'decorated' her room was the coloring pencils she had in her bag that she brought when she stayed at Gray's house along the stuffed animal. Those two items were salvaged by her siblings when they went back to the wreckage that was once their hometown.

She really glad that she still had it in one peace.

They were both placed on her desk.

After that, she followed Cana around.

Cana told her that even if every room in the dorm had its own private bathroom, there was an open bath in the dormitory that all the girls could use.

"Pretty huge right?"

"Yeah… but who would want to bathe with other people?" Karissa felt weird about stepping into the floor in her bare feet. It was wet. She didn't like walking barefoot in a public place.

Karissa grimaced.

Cana tilted her head a little as she did a small smile. "Apparently, the older members like to bathe together. They said it's good for bonding with other girls and stuff."

"Seems embarrassing to me." Karissa spat and shuffled to a towel on the side that was meant for drying feet.

Then again… I did sit in an ice tub with Lyon and Gray for training… but that's not the same thing since we were literally freezing to death to even think about bonding.

Her mind started thinking about Ur and her two friends until Cana snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Right? I wouldn't want to bathe with others." Cana shook her head. "I find it embarrassing too."

Cana brought her to the resource room next. Karissa was like a fish gaping its mouth when she stared at the number of books packed full into the shelves on the floor she was on. When Cana told her there was more below, Karissa practically ran over to the rail and looked down below. There was a large table along on the lower floor and it was surrounded by more books like Cana said. She was about to let out a huge cry of surprise until she noticed someone. She quickly backed away from the rail to avoid being seen.

"What kind of books are here?" Karissa whispered to Cana.

"There's all sorts of things." Cana grabbed her arm and pulled her along with her to some random section. She pointed at one bookshelf, "This over here is a section for magic. You can actually try to learn magic by yourself if you study these books."

"Whoa… that's cool." Karissa reached for a random book on Wind Magic that was reachable with her height and just started to flip the pages just to check out how much writing and pictures they had. "Do you read any of these books?" she asked Cana without looking away from the book.

"Yup, I started reading ones about Holder types before choosing a type of magic to practice." The brown haired girl walked away from her while swiping her fingers across the books' spines. She pulled out a book and held it up for Karissa to see. It was a book about Holder magic.

Ur had once explained it to her when she explained that ice molding magic was a Caster type. Their type of magic was something that came from within them. Holder magic was a type of magic that allowed the user to produce magic through an external source.

"What do you practice?"

"Magic Card. I just started getting into it recently so I'm not all that good yet."

"…"

Cana just stared at the odd look Karissa had on her face.

"… So like… you do magic tricks?" Karissa moved her eyes in different directions weirdly. "You make cards... appear and disappear?"

"No!" Cana shook her head with quiet laugh. "It's a type of magic that can do a bunch of things. Like I can summon lightning, wind or fire from a single card."

WHAT?!

"You can summon lightning?!" Karissa exclaimed loudly, causing Cana to slap her hands on her mouth in a panic when her voice echoed in the library. A few people on the second floor looked up in confusion.

Instead of continuing their tour inside the resource room, Cana had to pull her out of there and just move on. Karissa apologized quietly with her fingers on her mouth.

"Do you practice any magic?" Cana asked curiously while they went down to the first floor.

"Yeah. A branch of ice magic. It's called ice molding magic."

"Oh! The type where you make stuff?"

Karissa nodded enthusiastically. "I learned from a lady named Ur. I trained with her for like three-ish months with two boys. The training was pretty rough though."

"Really? How did you train for it?"

"Up in the mountains… in the cold… in our underwear."

"What?!" Cana looked at her like she had another head.

"Yeah… I know. But it helped us use magic."

"Can I see?" the brown haired girl asked.

Karissa grinned and eagerly slammed her fist in her palm like as if she was just waiting for Cana to ask. A bit of frost swirled around her palms before four pinwheels spun around them. The brown haired girl stared in awe as the pinwheels circled around her before flying upwards and shattering away into tiny ice fragments, ending the little show-and-tell.

"That was so pretty!"

"Really?" Karissa asked bashfully.

"Definitely."

The two girls smiled at each other.

"What else can you make?"

"A bunch of stuff! I can make anything I want except for moving sculptures since I don't have the ability for it."

"You gotta show me!"

"Okay, okay!" Karissa laughed.

They went down to the lobby where Cana showed her the place where they all usual eat their meals along with the hangout room where they could chat and play board games when they had no thing to do. Other than that, there wasn't really anything else. The boys' dormitory was pretty much the same. After that, they decided to go outside and show their magic to each other. It was fun to see what the other person could do so far. Karissa was obviously the better magic practioner since she learned under someone's guidance but Cana was good too. Karissa was literally blown away by how Cana made a small water fountain from just a simple card.

It was only her first day as a member of Fairy Tail but Karissa already felt a bit at ease thanks to Cana. The other girl was kind to her. For once, she didn't feel like she had to be careful about how she acted around another girl. Cana was breaking down her prejudice she had of other girls when it came to how they would think of her.

Perhaps it was because they were both mages in the same guild.

Two hours later, Pandora found Karissa and Cana in the lobby playing an intense game of jenga. The older sister was taking her time putting away her things and that she completely forgot about her younger sister. She thought that Karissa would probably be curled up in her room, too shy to leave since she didn't know anyone. She kind of panicked when she couldn't find her in her room. She felt the biggest relief when she found her just sitting in the lobby with Cana.

After introducing Pandora and Cana, Karissa had to leave with the first. Pandora insisted on getting some stuff for their rooms such as newer clothes and items for their own hygiene. Thankfully, Hilda handed them their allowance for the month on the way out which added more money to their current funds. Pandora knew that she had to make sure that her younger siblings didn't go on a spending spree with this rare amount of money that they could actually spend for themselves. They never really had allowances.

After calling out Van from his dorm, the three of them went to town together. Pandora had to keep running after her siblings since they kept darting off in different directions in Magnolia to check out the shops.

The older sister couldn't help but smile at their carefree attitude. To her, it served as a good sign. Her decision to move to Fiore and start a new life seemed so unreal since she was so used to struggling with her siblings. It was already starting to feel like a load off her shoulders.

Two days later, the Sinclost siblings were able to learn more about their parents than they thought, Apparently, there were mages in the guild aside from Makarov that were acquainted with them, Obviously, those members were the older mages. According to most of them, Van strongly resembled his father in a youthful way.

They knew that their parents were mages but they never heard any mage-type of stories. The tales went from saving a town from a dark guild to taming down a scary wyvern in the mountains.

Karissa didn't know if the stories were really something to be impressed about but she knew that she suddenly grew to love hearing about them more. She wanted to know more about her parents in a light she'd never seen before.

That's when they learned that Makarov had actually erected graves for them two years ago when he learned of their passing. Two years ago, Pandora couldn't afford to make a grave so she ended up making two wooden crosses in the back of their house so that Van and Karissa would have a place to visit them. When Karissa heard that there was actually a grave in Magnolia to honor their memory, she instantly wanted to go check it out. Meanwhile Van practically hugged the life out of Makarov.

When Zack and Domilia died, there was no trace of their body. There were only reports of eye witnesses who had seen them dying somewhere before fading away in light.

"One's magical powers are tied to one's life force." Makarov explained after Van released him. "I imagine that something must have happened to them and their power depleted to the point where their life faded. There have been many cases like that in the past."

"Does the amount of magic power you have make a difference?" Van wondered. "Like, if you had a lot then could you still live?"

Makarov looked up at the ceiling as he thought about it. He nodded once. "I suppose. It's a bit different when the caster is the one expelling their magic power themselves compared to when their magic is drained. Those with more magic power in their bodies suffer more damage when their power gets drained all of a sudden."

"… So, like me and Van?" Karissa frowned.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Wow, that sucks." Van huffed, crossing his arms.

"Zack and Domilia had a lot of magic power, so much that it was practically abnormal. It would explain why Van and Karissa have so much magic power in the first place."

"Does having magic power make someone powerful?" Pandora inquired curiously.

"Having a lot magic power is one thing but learning how to use it through magic is another." Presa said as she appeared behind Makarov and slid a mug of booze. "You could have a lot of magic power but still be an average mage if you don't have the skill."

Makarov nodded. "Precisely." He picked up the mug. "Zack and Domilia were skilled mages, and their large amount of magic power served as an asset in ways where they were able to last longer in battle."

Karissa blinked. She recalled when she used to spar against Lyon and the times where she would watch Gray fight against Lyon. When Gray fought Lyon, he usually got a bit more exhausted than Lyon since the latter was more skilled than the former. However, when Karissa fought Lyon, she usually found herself lasting longer than Gray. Lyon was better than them since he learned ice molding magic first, allowing him to build more magic power within himself. Karissa and Gray learned at the same time, so they should have been at the same level with it came to magic power.

Now she understood why things ended up the way they did.

It really did give me an advantage…

Kairssa suddenly remembered about her parents' grave in Kardia Cathedral. She started tugging on her sister's arm. "I wanna check out the graves!"

Van sweat dropped. "I doubt anyone would be as excited as you to see a tombstone."

"We never had a good one for mommy and daddy. We'll get to see a proper one for them now!" the younger girl grinned happily. "Come on! Let's go! I wanna seeeee!" she whined.

Pandora flicked her forehead, making her yelp and back away. The oldest sibling just chuckled and then bopped her on the nose. "Okay, let's go."

After Makarov gave them some directions on where the find their parents at the graveyard, Karissa eagerly went off ahead to reach Kardia Cathedral. Van had to jog after his sister since he didn't want her falling over or something from the excitement. Pandora chose to walk there and let Van manage their sister.

She was only six when her parents died. She didn't have as much time with them like Pandora or Van but she still cherished the times she could remember.

She wondered if Pandora missed them more than she did since she was the oldest. She was the first to know them and the first to be cared for by them.

Maybe.

Karissa saw parts of Kardia Cathedral appearing from behind the tall houses. She was getting closer. The girl was practically skipping instead of running now since she was nearby the cathedral. The moment she turned around the corner of a street, her heart rate jumped when she saw a body right behind the corner. With a silent gasp, she skidded to a stop which made the other person freeze in response. However, she couldn't stop herself since she found herself face first into the person's chest.

May the ground swallow her up right where she stood.

Karissa reeled away with an apologetic look. She tripped over her own feet and just fell on her butt. "Sorry, sorry." She bowed her head in shame before daring to peek at who she just ran into.

It was a boy who definitely looked older than her. She could tell he was way taller than her. He was carrying a bag on his shoulder. He had blond hair spiky hair. He was wearing a weird circular thing on his ears that had a spike protruding on each outer side. He was just staring at her with his gray-blue eyes with surprise. The most noticeable feature on this guy was the lightning bolt shaped scar on his right eye.

He just sighed before taking out one of his hands from his pockets and then reaching for her. She watched him grab her arm and help her back on her feet. "Just watch where you're going next time." was all he said before his hand went back into his pocket. He didn't look back as he walked past her.

Karissa could only stare at his back curiously.

Van caught up with his sister and wondered what she was doing just standing there. He tapped her shoulder, "What's up?"

"Oh, uh. Nothing."

Pandora was standing behind her two younger siblings. Van was standing in front of the grave of their father with small smile on his face while Karissa literally sat on the ground to scoot closer to her mother's grave.

Karissa caressed the surface of the tombstone with a small smile.

Hey mommy. We came to the guild you and daddy talked about. It seems pretty fun so far. I guess that's because there's a lot of people? Not sure.

I wish you were here to tell me what you knew about this town or about the things you saw here. I would have liked looking around with you and dad.

Oh, I also made a new friend here. Her name is Cana Alberona. She lives right next to my room in the dormitory. She taught me how to play this game called Old-Maid. It's pretty fun. I played with Cana, Van and Pandora since she said it was better to play with at least more than two people. It's a game where you have to get rid of your cards by making pairs and stuff. The person that's left with the joker ends up loosing since it doesn't have a hair. It's a fun game!

Van squatted down to get closer to his father's grave. He placed his hand on the writing that spelled his father's name: Zack Sinclost.

Hey dad. It's been a while since I've spoken to you.  I just hope you're doing well with mom.  It's not my fault by the way, we lost a bunch of stuff when Deliora attacked the town. It was just recently that we found out you and mom were over here too. It's thanks to that old man Makarov. He said he made graves for you here because you were part of Fairy Tail.

Now that I think about it, that 'tattoo' on your back was probably the Fairy Tail insignia wasn't it?

I hope I get to learn more stories about you and mom.

Pandora observed her siblings who were lost in their own personal conversations. In contrast to their peaceful smiles, she just stared at the two tombstones with indifference. She wasn't going to just plaster a gentle smile on her face anytime soon. She had no reason to.

Pandora breathed through her nose heavily and then looked up at the clear blue sky.

This is fine.

She blinked slowly.

Just remember the pleasant memories of the good old days.

That's all.

The oldest sibling looked away from the sky and looked at her younger siblings, her face still expressed no emotion when she stood in front of her parents' graves.

It's all you need.

Chapter Text

When daylight came, he was left in the ruined state of an unknown city. It was in a similar state of that of his hometown when it got destroyed.

After being blamed for their master's death, the young boy stayed rooted in his spot until the footsteps of his former classmate and friend disappeared from the area. No matter what he said, he couldn't stop him as he so furious and disappointed that his dream was ruined because of him.

He could only silently cry on in his arms on his knees in front of the huge block of ice that trapped the monster he used to want revenge on.

Gray sniffled and wiped away his tears with his sleeve. "I'm sorry…" he said to no one around him.

Revenge wasn't worth it in the end. It wasn't worth losing even more.

"In the western countries, you'll find that there are a lot of more powerful mages than me."

He resolved himself, for his sake and his master's, he would start a new path. Darkness would not easily shackle his heart again. He would strive to become the stronger as an ice molding mage to make her proud. He would never speak ill of her magic again either.

"I'll go to Fiore." He told himself as he slowly rose up to his feet.

According to what Ur told him, Fiore was a kingdom in the west that many more mages compared to the eastern countries. If there were that many mages that could be just as powerful or even more powerful than Ur, he could probably find a way to undo the Iced Shell.

"C'mon Gray, at least promise me that you jerkbag!"

And she deserved to know the truth.

…

…

…

Two months had passed since the Sinclost siblings had arrived in Fairy Tail.

For the first month, Pandora wasted no time in taking some odd jobs inside the town to earn some money so that she could set it aside. Along with Van, she was training the magic she discovered she had after running a few tests with some magic items that Makarov had store in the guild.

Apparently, their parents' had left them another gift other than the large amount of magic power. Their magic was passed down to them.

Pandora had light magic from her mother. Van had earth and Karissa had wind from their father. Van's earth magic wasn't that big of a surprise after they realized that's what caused the crack in the floor back when they were traveling. The two trained to get better at using their gifts while Karissa just slacked off since she thought that having her ice magic as her primary one would be good enough for. But she did occasionally work seriously on her wind magic as well, just not as much as her ice magic.

When the second month came around, Pandora decided to take on jobs outside of Magnolia that were close by. She actually enjoyed taking on jobs from the request board, saying it was fun to experiment with her magic in real situations instead of just training. It was also a learning experience was an immigrant. Van was often training with Macao or Wakaba who were glad to help him develop his magical prowess. Karissa heard he was planning on taking a job with them since he wanted to go outside of town to satisfy his curiosity about what a job was like.

Karissa didn't understand that desire to venture out. She was perfectly fine with staying within Magnolia and explore whatever the town had to offer. There was still so much she didn't know in this new place she was in.

Then one day, Makarov called over Karissa while she was sitting with Cana.

Karissa slid off her seat and jogged to where Makarov was where she found a guy standing there in front of him. It was a Laxus. It was Makarov's grandson. She learned that he was the guy who she ran into that one time when she first went to visit her parents' graves. Laxus was looking at her with a lifted brow before looking at his grandfather questioningly.

"Laxus is going to run some errands for the guild since we're running out of stuff." The little old man informed her, "Why don't you go with him?"

"Hah?!" Laxus' hands that were once stuffed his pockets flew out as he held them up, palms open.

"Why?" Karissa asked after seeing his reaction, feeling uneasy.

"Hm, good question." Makarov rubbed his chin. "He needs help carrying some bags."

Laxus' eye twitched. "No way."

Karissa felt uncomfortable. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. Currently, her sister was out on a job while her brother was out somewhere in a nearby forest practicing his magic on his own. She wanted to do that thing where she would look at either one of them to silently asking them for their opinion. But they weren't there so she was left feeling all nervous on her own.

She eventually just tuned out the conversation between the two and looked behind her. She found her friend Cana looking at her with an obvious question mark above her head. Karissa just shrugged slowly.

Makarov rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll pay you." It seemed like the only thing that might work since his grandson had been fixated on collecting and hiding away some money lately whenever he earned it.

"…"

Eventually, she heard Laxus click his tongue in annoyance, prompting her to look at him. He looked at her and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Come on, we're going." He said bluntly before walking off, not bothering to check if she was following after him.

The girl looked at her guild master for confirmation. He just nodded and made a shoo-ing motion with his hand.

"O…Okay…?"

As Makarov watched the young girl tail after his grandson, he was approached by Presa from behind who looked a bit uneasy.

"Are you sure of that?"

He merely played with his mustache. "That boy needs to learn some patience so having him watch over someone younger than him might be beneficial. Besides, it would be nice to see him form a bond someone connected to the two people he once admired."

…

…

…

Karissa's right eye twitched.

She was literally on the verge of freezing Laxus' head in an ice cube. He was annoying the hell out of her and they haven't even arrived at whatever store they were going to.

The blond teen wouldn't shut up.

'You're so slow!' 'Walker faster!' 'What are you waiting for?'

Him and his long ass legs had no right to keep yapping at her.

I swear, if he says something again… I'm pitching an ice cube at his head.

As if on cue, Laxus glanced over his shoulder, causing Karissa to blow out hot air in annoyance. She picked up the pace until she was literally speed walking past him. She didn't even know where they were going so that probably wasn't the best strategy. Laxus had to be the one walking in front.

Then she heard a couple of older kids laughing and running behind her, but that didn't stop her from moving. What did stop her was the sudden impact she felt when one of them practically ran into her, knocking her down. She winced when she felt her knee collide with the concrete floor.

She looked up when she heard them still running. Her eyes watched as the two older kids looked behind them before chuckling and turning away.

Wow, are you serious?

The two teens were startled when they found Laxus in front of them, lightning sparking around him. Just a moment ago, he was behind Karissa. He looked at them with a glare and didn't say anything.

"Wh-What?" one of them said.

Laxus motioned his head towards the girl. "Help her up."

The other scowled. "We don't need to listen to you."

His big shot persona immediately became non-existent when Laxus stomped his foot on the ground and made lightning strike on the spot next to him. That did the trick. The two immediately ran to where Karissa was and muttered apologies as they helped her up. Then they scurried off to who knows where after glancing one more time at the other teen. Laxus' eyes followed them until they were no longer in sight. He didn't know why it was so funny to hurt someone like that. That just pissed him off.

A low hiss brought his attention on Karissa. She was poking the fresh scrape below her right wrist. She was bleeding from it. Judging by the way she was slightly limping; he could assume that she hurt herself on her knee but he didn't know to what extent.

He ignored the stares of the people around them and approached her.

"You gonna be okay?" He tilted his head.

"I guess." She shrugged.

Laxus didn't respond to that. Instead, he turned and continued walking to the store but not without slowing down his pace for her. They walked side-by-side silently.

…

…

…

Instead of following him inside the store, he told her to simply wait outside on the bench facing the store. He didn't need her help. Instead of feeling somewhat offended, Karissa was glad to sit back and wait. She didn't feel like adding more pressure on her knee or something.

It reminded her of when she used to wait with Gray and Lyon while Ur bought food. She spent time thinking back to those days while he was gone.

The girl checked her left knee while he was gone. Fortunately, she didn't get anything on her knee. Instead, she found the side of her ankle skinned. Her mouth twisted into a frown, displeased. She started picking at the skin, removing the little part that came off. When no one was looking, she put saliva on her fingers and rubbed it on scrape like some sort of salve.

That should at least do something.

Then she lowered the pant leg back down and did her best to not move around so the saliva wouldn't get wiped off somehow.

She ended up playing with the ice magic to pass the time.

When Laxus returned, she just observed him approach her until he was sitting next to her. He put down the bags and started digging inside. His back was facing her since he twisted around to dig inside the bag, searching for something. She had no idea what he was doing but if she had to guess then she figured that he was rearranging stuff so she could carry a lighter bag.

Karissa rolled her eyes, Right, if he's actually considerate.

"Got it." Laxus muttered under his breath. He turned around and held a small squared packet. Karissa eyed the object in his hands, really confused. She shifted her eyes back at Laxus, giving him questioning eyes. Laxus patted the bench. "Put your legs up here."

"… Why?"

"Just do it."

"But why?"

"Put it on the bench!"

Karissa flinched at the sound of authority in his voice. Timidly, she put up her legs on the bench and sat in position similar to a fetal way. His hand suddenly locked around her left ankle, causing her to let out a small eep. He made sure to avoid touching the flesh wound.

"What are you doing?"

He ignored her question and simply ripped the packet open with his teeth. Then he pulled out a white tissue from it with the help of his other hand. Then he pushed back the pant of her leg, revealing the wound she got from falling.

Realization dawned on her. "I-Is that… boo-boo wipes?"

"Yup."

Laxus pressed the disinfectant wipe on it.

Karissa let out a hiss, her hands shot up and made crab-hand motions above her head . "Ow, ow, ow!" she tried to free herself by wiggling her leg around. "L-Laxus! Let go!"

Even if she wanted to escape, she didn't dare try to kick him off with her other leg. She feared for what might happen to her.

That stings!

Laxus only rolled his eyes and held her tighter. "Suck it up."

He set the wipe on his knee before taking out a band-aid. Karissa just watched him put the band-aid on her knee with both of his hands. She didn't try to run from him. Laxus glanced up at her and found her staring at him like if he was some creepy creature from the south.

Then he grabbed her wrist and did the same for her other scrape. This time, she flinched but she didn't try to fight him like last time. She let him put a little band-aid on her arm afterwards.

"Gramps would get pissed at me for letting you get infections or something."

"…"

And I thought he cared, my mistake.

He was nice enough to carry all the bags himself (not that it would be any trouble for him in the first place) and just let her walk next to him with the same pace he took a few moments ago.

She didn't know why but Makarov kept insisting that Karissa accompanied Laxus on whenever he went to get some stuff from the store for the guild.

The second time they went together, Laxus walked side by side with her instead of speed walking away. An improvement that she noted. She always tailed after him and tried to help him get the stuff he needed. There were times when he got annoyed when she dragged her feet but he never urged her to hurry the hell up like that first time.

The third time they went somewhere together was at the grocery store. They went their own way inside the store to make things faster. When they found each other after getting all the items they needed, Karissa playfully demanded she be rewarded with some chocolate. At first, he tried to brush off her request, but she just ended up pestering him into buying one for her much to his dismay. Despite his initial annoyance, he was getting more patient with her.

As they took on more trips together in town because of his grandfather, the two started forming a better relationship. It was at that point where Karissa wasn't asked to tag along anymore. She just wanted to go with Laxus since it was a fun little routine. Whenever they had extra money from the errands, they would buy a small snack on the way back.

When she felt confident about being comfortable around him, Karissa would tease and play pranks on Laxus, causing him to get irritated and try to get her back with something worse. He once put a small lizard down the back of her shirt, causing her and Cana to freak out.

Every now and then she would steal his magic headphones and listen to the music without his permission.

Honestly, it felt like having another big brother.

…

…

…

"I told you it was a bad idea!"

"I was just curious!"

…

…

…

Despite Cana's protests, Karissa decided that they should go into the forest where Porlyusica's house was. They heard rumors about that lady from the other members in their guild. Apparently, she was the guild's Medicinal Advisor.

Van called her a misanthropy, whatever that meant.

Curiosity was killing her. Karissa wanted to know what kind of place this Porlyusica lived in. Cana was walking behind her while holding the back of her sweater like a rope. She felt uneasy about venturing so far into the forest. Hell, she didn't even know how Karissa managed to rope her into this.

"It's so silent and creepy here."

"Oh, come on, it's daytime. There's nothing scary here!" Karissa laughed at her for being silly. "Besides, if we see something coming for us then we'll just use magic to hit it."

"I guess…" Cana still felt uneasy despite her rational reasoning. "So, um, I noticed that Pandora doesn't really interact with other girls in the dorm. How come?"

Instead of focusing on the fact that they were in the forest, she decided to keep her mind off it by bringing up some random subject.

"Hm, Pandora hasn't really had any friends her age before. It's because she was usually too busy for it. I guess she still feels awkward about being able to now."

During the past two months, Cana and Karissa had become close friends. That privilege allowed Cana to learn more about Karissa's past. She and her two siblings became orphans two years ago when their parents died. It left the oldest child with the responsibility to take care of the two. Cana thought that they lived a hard life even without Karissa going into too much detail. However, she was told that it wasn't really the case as they had a family who occasionally offered their support for them since they knew her parents. Life was hard as orphans, but not too hard.

"I hope she realizes that there's no reason to feel awkward." Cana sighed.

"Me too. She'll have more fun that way."

Suddenly, there was a sound behind them.

Cana and Karissa flinched and then whirled around only to find a lady with pink hair staring down at them with her arms crossed. It was Porlyusica.

"HAH?" she looked down at the two kids with a scary face, causing them to cry out in fright before bolting back whence they came.

Thankfully, Porlyusica didn't make an effort to chase after them.

…

…

…

"We told you that she doesn't like being around people." Macao laughed with a shake of his head.

"Getting too curious will get you into trouble, Karissa. Don't you know that curiosity killed the cat?" Wakaba ruffled her hair while she only grinned sheepishly. Then she pushed off Wakaba's hand when she remembered something. "Where's my brother? I thought he was training with you guys?"

"Eh," Wakabe rubbed the back of his head. "We were supposed to but one of the kids at the dorm said that he's been hauled up in his room sleeping."

Macao shrugged his shoulders. "We warned him not to overuse his magic power but he didn't listen."

"Is he sick?" Karissa wondered.

"Nah, just really tired." Macao waved his hand dismissively.

Karissa let out a puff of laughter. "That dummy. They warned him not to overdo it."

During their first month at Fairy Tail, Van was able to have his seal removed but not without catching a fever like his little sister. Thankfully, the head of his dorm took care of him even though Pandora was insistent on doing it herself. Like Karissa, his mark faded away after a week, leaving behind no trace of its existence.

He simply had to do what Karissa had to do when she got sick: get his body used to his abnormal amount of magic power by expelling it through training. It took a while but his body had gotten used to it. He was ecstatic about it. However, that didn't mean that he wasn't at the risk of feeling drained and exhausted from pushing himself to the point of running empty on magic.

Master Makarov and Pandora warned him about it.

Van didn't listen.

That side effect probably came from their abnormal amount of magic power. For Van and Karissa, it was like getting drunk and drowsy from absorbing so much Ethernano after expelling all of it.

Wakaba who was stretching his arms and twisting around a bit caught sight of their guild master pointing at Karissa and asking her to come over with his hand. The brown haired man nodded his head and relayed the message to the girl. Without questioning him, she got off her chair and started making her way to where Makarov usually sat on the counter. She wondered if he was sending her to go with Laxus again. If so, she'd be glad to.

As she got closer to where he sat after maneuvering her way around, she caught sight of someone standing before him. He was dressed in a white jacket on top of an orange shirt and some dark blue pants. What she noticed on him was the backpack he carried, he seemed like a traveler who was about her age.

"Ah, here she comes." Makarov smiled.

Upon hearing that, the boy in front of Makarov began to turn around to see her approaching them. The moment she saw his face, she stopped in her tracks and gave him a surprised face. Next thing he knew she was bolting towards him excitedly and stopped just before she could tackle him to the ground.

"Gray!" she said with clear surprise in her voice. "What are you doing here?!"

Even if she just looked surprised, she was super happy to see her friend that she thought she wouldn't see any time soon.

He mustered a small smile in front of her. "Hey."

"Gray here tells me that he came to this guild because he knew you were here." Makarov explained. "And as of today, he's a member of Fairy Tail." he announced.

"Wow! Seriously?!"

"Well, I have nowhere else to go…"

He seemed quite different from when she last saw him. She honestly expected him to give her a coy answer or just put on a scowl and act all grumpy like usual. No, it felt like he was acting a bit more like he used to.

She smiled.

Well, that's a good sign!

"Hm, why? What happened with living with Ur and Lyon?"

Makarov chose to drink his booze, pretending like he wasn't hearing their conversation. Gray had briefly told him the details to explain how Ur ended up using the Iced Shell on Deliora on the northern continent. Before asking to become a member, he asked him if it were possible to undo the spell and revert his master back to normal.

He knew that Karissa was a student of hers alongside Gray and some boy named Lyon that she spoke of. So he understood the sadness that she was going to feel from hearing the news. However, it wasn't in his place to drop the bomb.

Instead of spilling the truth right out in the open, Gray grabbed her wrist and simply told her to come along with him. He wanted to go outside somewhere to tell her without having random strangers listening in on them.

"Huh? Why?" she let him drag her.

"Just wait."

Karissa just ended up letting Gray drag her along without questioning him. His hand felt tense around her wrist. She spotted Cana, Wakaba and Macao looking at them curiously. The girl could only shrug with her free arm before turning her attention back on Gray. They found a bench underneath a tree not too far away from the guild hall. There weren't many passerbys. They took a seat next to each other. Gray had put his bag on the ground and his fingers began to fidget against each other while Karissa watched him silently.

"What's wrong?" Karissa tilted her head.

She could tell that something was wrong with him, it was so obvious. But she didn't pressure him into spitting out whatever he needed to say. He appreciated her patience. He was taking his time in order to steel himself for whatever outcome might come out of him telling the truth.

Eventually, he spoke.

"Ur… She…"

Karissa blinked. What happened to Ur?

Two months after she departed for Fiore, he heard that Deliora had moved to the northern continent, somewhere in Brago. Being the revenge obsessed fool that he was, he packed up his things and made his way there despite Ur telling him not to. He told her that Lyon and Ur clearly told him to stop since it would be impossible. But he didn't listen. He still went and the result ended just as they said. He stood no match against it and he was even terrified of fighting it.

Ur and Lyon went after him which resulted in Ur sealing the demon away with Iced Shell. Upon hearing the name of that spell, her eyes went wide. She remembered Lyon reading a book about it back when she went with him to the warehouse.

It was a spell that utilized the caster's body in order to freeze a target.

Ur was no longer around as a person. She became the ice sealing away Deliora.

He had asked Makarov if there was any way to undo the spell so he could fix things. There wasn't any.

Karissa didn't say anything.

Gray didn't have the courage to look at her face, he simply stared at his shoes.

There was silence.

"… What happened to Lyon?"

"He left… I don't know where he went."

So, they went their separate ways…?

She didn't say anything for a while and it made Gray worry.

Karissa turned away her head to the side, prompting Gray to glance at her. His eyes shifted downwards to see her hand gripping the wooden bench. The boy turned away and chose to look at his shoes.

If Karissa didn't feel any type of anger or sadness then she would have needed a heart of stone or even no heart at all.

Her hand clenched into a fist and hit the spot between them, making him flinch. "Damn it, Gray… how could you be so stupid!" she suddenly raised her voice. She turned her head to look at him, her face twisted in anger. "They told you not to do it! You should have known that you weren't going to stand a chance! It's simple logic! You're just a freaking kid!"

How cocky did he think he was?!

"I'm sorry…"

Karissa scoffed and got up from her seat on the bench and stood in front of him. She glared at him when he looked up at her. "You're 'sorry'?! That's not going to fix it!" she ran her fingers in her hair in frustration and despair. All her sadness was being suppressed only to be ejected in the form of anger. "Ur is not here anymore! This is all your fault!"

That did it. His eyes started to sting. He knew full well that things ended up this way because of his thoughtless actions. He was starting to cry again even though he resolved himself not to just in case things went bad. He was still vulnerable right now. 'Just in case'… he should have expected her to act like this. He didn't know what to say.

He knew that Karissa saw Ur like another mother.

"If only you weren't so obsessed with your damn revenge with Deliora, then things wouldn't have to be like this!" she spat at him, and then turned around and started walking away from him.

He didn't call out for Lyon when he left and he didn't call out for Karissa either. He couldn't. He felt like he had no right to.

As Karissa kept walking, she kept staring down at the street. She wanted to cry out for Ur. She wanted to cry and hide her tears behind her hands like a child. Ur was gone. It was hard to believe. It wasn't supposed to end up like this.

In the past two months, Karissa had actually began to wish for the day where she would be reunited with the woman she thought of as a mother and just show her how much she grew as a person and an ice molding mage.

Karissa wanted to show Ur that she could live up to her expectations.

She once dreamed of that potential future at night.

But…

That wish was no longer possible.

All because of Gray.

That stupid idiot!

If it weren't for him… Lyon would still be able to work on his dream… and I might've seen Ur again…!

Karissa's fists clenched tightly at her sides.

…

Ur pulled out two dark red scarves from her pocket. She wrapped one around Gray first and then Karissa.

"This will warm you up a bit."

"Thank you." she smiled behind it, her nose red from the cold.

…

"Ur…" she whispered her name sadly.

…

"I'm going to miss you, Ur…" Karissa admitted with tears. "I want to stay here and keep learning magic with you."

Ur just sighed and chuckled lightly when she felt her student hug her tightly. The woman rubbed the child's back. "I know. As much as I want to let you stay, you know that I can't, right?"

Karissa nodded.

"You belong with your family."

"I know…"

"And as for magic, I don't really need to teach you. It's like I told you, molding mages are powerful because they create their own style. As long as you keep refining your style, you can become as powerful as you want." Ur pulled away from Karissa and held her arms. She wiped away the stray tears that fell. "You're going to be a wonderful mage. Make me proud even if I don't watch over you."

…

Karissa stopped in her tracks as she dug her nails lightly on her forehead as she cried in her palms. Her tears escaped her eyes as the memories of Ur appeared in brief moments in her mind.

"Not again…" she whimpered. "It's not fair…"

…

"It hurts, I know it does." Ur said while looking forlorn. "But you're never alone. As long as you have other people you care about and have people who care for you in return, you won't be alone. I'm here, Gray and Lyon too… we're all here. That's what we humans do; we look out for each other."

…

Her pace started to slow down until she stopped walking completely.

…

"I can tolerate playful arguing but not fights like this. You two will just make things awkward at the dinner table later if you don't fix whatever happened between the two of you."

…

Karissa lowered her hands from her face and sniffled.

I don't think Ur would want us to fight.

She always wanted us three to get along.

Karissa glanced back where to where she came from.

She would want us to look out for each other.

… And I don't want to fight.

Even though she hated Gray right now, she would never try and severe that their friendship and make him hate himself even more than he did at the moment.

He made a mistake.

I get it. He gets it.

Karissa inhaled a sharp breath before turning on her heel and running back to Gray, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. She found him still on the bench. But this time, he put up his legs on the bench so he could rest his arms on them and bury his face in them, hiding his crying face from the public. Karissa wasted no time and hurrying on over to him. She felt bad, it was kind of her fault he was crying right now.

Before Gray could lift up his head when he heard the sound of running footsteps, he was enveloped in a tight awkward hug because of his legs. He slowly lowered them back down and made a confused sound when he realized that she had returned.

"K-Karissa…?" he said meekly.

He thought she was through with him just like Lyon.

I really hate you right now.

But I don't hate you enough to leave you alone.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Karissa said softly, hugging him tighter. "I was angry and sad. The words just came out without thinking."

That somehow just brought him slight hope. This scenario was different from the one he had with Lyon. The boy dropped his head on her shoulder and shook his head. "No, I get it… you have every right to be. Ur is gone because of me…" Gray reciprocated her hug. They were both in need of a comforting hug. "It's all my fault. I know it is."

"Her sacrifice is not worth losing my best friend over, y'know?" Karissa told him honestly.

"I'm sorry." Gray said in a broken voice, shaking from both the sadness and the relief. He didn't voice it out but he was glad Karissa still thought of him as her best friend.

Saying that it was 'okay' would be a lie.

"I know." Karissa pressed the side of her head on his and closed her eyes, rubbing his back.

She knew from experience that, with time, they were eventually going to be okay.

Her hate and love for her best friend would simply have to coexist with each other for now.

"I swear, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know."

Eventually Karissa sat back down on the bench and shifted around so she could wrap a comforting arm around her friend, she was getting tired of standing. He was able to calm down after a while, leaving the two in silence with the occasional sniffling.

"You know I hate you right now, right?" Karissa glanced at him.

Gray made a thin line with his lips before nodding. "Yeah. I'm not surprised."

"But I still care about you."

Gray turned a little red from her honesty.

…

"Gray. You have to stop acting like such a rebel or else you're going to drive away others who care for you."

Gray slowly lowered his gaze to look away from his teacher.

"Trust me, you don't want that to happen. Especially with someone like Karissa who really cares about you. Those are the kind of friends you want to have in your life."

…

He could see how right she was.

Seriously, Gray could only thank his luck for having this kind of friend in his life.

Karissa sighed as she pushed herself off the bench. They couldn't keep moping outside. She put her hands behind her and motioned her head towards the direction of the guild. "Come on, we should go back to Master Makarov so we can ask him if you can get a room at the dorm."

Gray quirked up an eyebrow. "Dorm?"

"Yup." Karissa picked up his bag and held it out to him while he slipped off the bench. "Kids like us get to live in the dorms which is like 100,000 jewels per month."

Gray nearly tripped. He stopped and gaped at Karissa. "What?! I don't have that kind of money!" he exclaimed.

This made Karissa grin as she purposely left out the rest of the information to try and lighten the mood. She turned away from him and led the way,"I knew you'd react like that. But no, the rent is covered until the age of fourteen. When we turn fifteen, we have to pay half of that 100,000. So, we're good for the time being. You just need to take on jobs later to earn money!"

She turned to him and gave him a small thumbs up. "With our magic, we can— WHAT THE HELL?!" Karissa backed away from Gray, mortified. She pointed at him with a shaky finger. "What are you doing?!"

Gray tilted his head and gave her a puzzled look. "What?"

"Why did you strip down to your underwear?!" she shot back without missing a beat.

He was standing there clad in dark blue boxer shorts while the rest of his clothes were left behind on the ground. Karissa looked around uneasily when she heard people snickering at Gray. The boy gasped in horror and started running back to gather his clothes.

"The hell's wrong with you?!" Karissa wondered as she watched him get back dressed hastily. "This is not the mountains!"

"Not my fault! Ur's training did this to me!" Gray shouted from afar as he put on the last article of clothing.

Karissa face palmed. "Yeesh, now you're a real weirdo!" she chuckled.

"Sh-Shut up!"

After seeing Makarov and dropping off Gray at the male's dorm, she went back to the girls' dormitory. Instead of going back to the guild, she chose to head back to her room and be alone for a while. She was so focused on going back to her room that she even ignored Hilda who called her name. She wasn't in the mood to go through a lecture if that's what she wanted to say to her.

Karissa entered her room and softly closed the door, locking it. Her hands remained on the wood for a few seconds until she just slipped them off slowly. She walked to one of the drawers and opened it quietly.

Her room didn't feel so empty anymore. She had some traditional art supplies along with some markers that used magic laying on around. It could draw in the air. She had more clothes in her drawers and closet compared to when she first arrived. There was a small deck of cards that Cana gave her sitting on her desk. She also had a few stuffed animals on her drawer since having just one sitting there looked lonely.

She took out the gray beanie and the black and white checkered scarf that Ur had given her, she stared at the items in her hands before slowly taking a seat on her bed.

"Life really is a precious thing…" the girl muttered as she hugged the only thing she had left of Ur. She plopped herself on her bed and stayed still.

"You're going to be a wonderful mage. Make me proud even if I don't watch over you."

…

"… I'll try."

Chapter Text

"Hey," Karissa crossed her arms and looked up at him. "The heck are you doing?"

"Sleeping here. What does it look like?" Laxus walked past her and dumped his bag on the bed nearest to the door, not caring about intruding.

"You have your own room."

"Yeah, and you might freeze this room in your sleep and make me pay for your mess. No thanks."

Karissa gaped. "Who do you think I am?! I'm not some lousy mage who loses control in her sleep! Pandora told me not to sleep in the same room as you!"

Laxus laughed mockingly and walked past her to go to the bathroom with clothes he pulled out from his bag. "Yeah if there was one bed. Look, don't worry, I'm not interested in eleven year old girls."

"Ew! You're gross!"

Laxus rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him, leaving Karissa in a confused and fuming state. She didn't understand why he suddenly wanted to sleep in the same room as her when he clearly had another key for his own room! Sure, there were two beds but it still felt weird.

With haste, she quickly changed into some clothes for the night. Loose black pants and a blue t-shirt with white socks to keep her feet warm. She folded her clothes and neatly set them on the chair before opening her bed to settle inside. She didn't want to sleep next to the window but it seemed like she didn't have a choice since Laxus already claimed his territory.

He might just toss her back the other bed if she tried to steal his.

When he got out of the bathroom, he was in more casual clothing that was suited for bed. He walked over to her and held out his headphones to her while she was getting comfortable.

"What?"

"I'll let you borrow it."

Karissa eyed it with an unsure look on her face before sitting up and glancing up at him. Laxus never liked it when Karissa took his Sound Pods from him since he always liked having music in his ears. It was rare for him to give them up without saying anything.

"Have you lost it?"

With an exasperated sigh, he just put them on her ears and forced her to lie down on the bed before taking her blanket and throwing it on her face.

…

…

…

Karissa opened her eyes slowly. As she squinted from the brightness, she realized that the train stopped. She recognized the station outside the window. She was back home in Magnolia. Without wasting another second, she uncrossed her legs and she reached in front of her to snatch her backpack off the seat in front of her so she can get off the train. She took her time walking out of the station.

When she stepped out of the entrance, she felt a breeze blow her hair and her hood off, messing her bangs in her face. With a yawn, she rubbed her eye as she walked into town.

Karissa rolled her shoulders back and brushed her long bangs away from her face. She noted how long they were and thought that she should cut them soon. Unlike when she was eight, her hair was no longer parted in the middle and curled behind her ears like her sister. Now, she had bangs that fell towards her left and sometimes hid her left eye whenever they got longer.

She tugged on the sleeves of her sweater to hide her hands. She had the habit of hiding her hands ever since another kid in the guild had made a comment about the hair on her fingers, causing her to cease drawing inside the guildhall or even showing her hands at all. It made her feel self-conscious about them when she was around other people. It made her want to hide away her skin that could be covered such as her arms and legs.

Weird dream. Why did I dream of that?

It was the year X779. Five years had passed since she joined Fairy Tail. She was thirteen. To her, it just felt like she joined the guild a few months ago.

In five years, she had more friends than she ever had back in Iceberg. There was Gray, Cana, Laxus, Erza, Natsu, Levy, Elfman and Lisanna. Along with a flying blue cat named Happy that was born a few months ago. To her, that was already so much.

"Oi."

Karissa turned her head to her left and then to her right when she found no one. To her right, Laxus was catching up to her with his long legs.

"Oh, hey." Karissa blinked at him. "I just got back from my job."

"Oh yeah? And how'd it go?" he caught up to her.

"… I was super nervous." Karissa sighed and scratched her cheek with a finger sheepishly.

"That's ridiculous."

"Shut up, you idiot!" she smacked his arm which he responded with an annoyed look. "It was my first solo job! Of course I was nervous!"

Laxus shook his head at her excuse. Despite his usual mean demeanor to the younger members of the guild (like Natsu), he had an unusual soft spot for Karissa. Most people around him would often just see him as 'Makarov's grandson' which had been annoying him immensely. They would even treat him as such. It was getting on his nerves. He hated being only seen as that. Everything he did was becoming something that was obviously expected from Makarov's blood. He was starting to feel like he wasn't getting credit for his own achievements.

It took him a while to see it but Karissa didn't give a damn. Sure, the only reason the two got along today was because of his grandfather who set them up that day. But she never cared for the fact that Laxus was someone's grandson. She just did as she pleased and treated him like someone who wasn't the blood of some important figure. Karissa even found his skill and rising fame as a mage amazing even though he was sure that his fame was only because of Makarov. A thirteen year old was seeing him for him.

If he could give a name to what he felt between them, it would be a bond.

That bond became apparent when she was eleven.

Back when she was still running around everywhere but at a more tame level, she had asked Laxus to go with her on her first job since he had obviously been on ones before. Karissa didn't feel like asking Van or Pandora since she wanted to go with him specifically. Laxus had more knowledge about Fiore since he was born there. At first, he was adamant about not going but she just kept pestering him until he said yes. That surprised everyone, even him.

However, the job she chose was too much of a baby level for him. So, he ended up taking a job that was of a higher difficulty even though his grandfather told him not to for her sake. He thought that if experience was the best way to learn, then it would be the best to take up a challenge. He expected that she was going to have a bit of difficulty since she wasn't used to it but she slowly adapted enough for him not to save her every minute which was impressive. That also showed how capable she was as mage. He clearly underestimated her training.

When he booked two rooms in a hotel for their stay at night in some town in the east, he overheard someone talking about the room that Karissa was going to be staying in. His ears were sharp. He couldn't find who said it in the lobby but he heard the type of voice that spoke. They sounded sleazy. Yeah, it was one of those sick freaks. For that reason, he chose to stay in her room at night and kept her ears muffled the whole time with some rock music that somehow lulled her to sleep.

He could still remember looking at them dead in the eyes in the dark that night.

…

…

…

Laxus was sitting on his bed in the dark, looking at the sky outside the window on Karissa's side until he heard a slight noise coming from the door. Taking that as his cue, he moved over to the middle of the bed and sat there facing the door with his elbows on his knees.

As soon as the door was opened, he was met with a bearded man kneeling in front of the door who slowly pushed it open. There was also a friend of his behind him.

To them, it looked like Laxus' eyes was glowing in the dark as he glared at them. He looked like a beast guarding something. Before they could run away, Laxus appeared behind him in flash of lightning and then grabbed the back of their shirts, dragging them away after gently closing the door.

He didn't know who they were but they weren't going to get anywhere near her.

She woke up that morning blissfully ignorant of what happened that night since he took care of it in complete silence.

…

…

…

"But it wasn't as bad as I thought…" Karissa mumbled softly, almost inaudibly, but she knew that he could still hear her.

"That's because you're just overthinking shit." Laxus rolled his eyes and looked ahead. Karissa curiously glanced at him and noted how annoyed he appeared and sounded compared to usual. It made her wonder if something happened recently while he was gone for three days.

Karissa viewed Laxus like another brother. When she was eleven, she discovered that Laxus was looked after by her mother and father a few times while his own father was away on jobs, it made her feel sort of connected to him. According to some older members, Laxus enjoyed being around them as a kid.

It was strange for her to feel like that with someone who was five years older than her.

Van had once made a joke about how Laxus was probably destined to replace his role as a big brother.

Because of how much time she spent around him, she was acute to the slight differences between his usual annoyed demeanor and the immense annoyance that was accompanied by anger. Right now, it was the latter.

"Hey, did something happen? I get the feeling that you're angry."

Laxus only shrugged and scoffed. "My dad got excommunicated yesterday by the old man. But it's no big deal, right? Since gramps easily dismissed him like that."

Ivan Dreyar. She never really felt comfortable around that man. He was always… eerie. She would never tell Laxus that though.

She didn't say anything to avoid stepping on a landmine.

"I don't understand why gramps would just kick out his own son like it's no big deal. Sure, he made mistakes, but that's his own son."

She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, "… I won't pretend to know what Master Makarov thought about when he kicked your dad out. But I don't think it was easy. Like you said, that's his son..."

"Oh yeah? Well I don't think so. I doubt he even cares."

Karissa averted her eyes away as they turned around a corner of a street. She didn't really know what to say to him in this situation. It wasn't her father that got kicked out of the guild.

Laxus ran his fingers in his blond hair in frustration, "No point in getting upset over it now though. It's already been done."

"But what's going to happen now?"

"I don't freaking know. I'm just done." Laxus clenched his fist tightly and held it in front of him before opening it. "I'm going to get stronger and stronger until people stop associating me with that old man. I'm not like him."

"But I see you for who you are."

"Yeah, but you're one person."

Karissa sputtered, offended. "Oh-okaay. So, I don't matter?"

Laxus flicked her forehead and she yelped, missing the opportunity to bat his hand away. "It's the same feeling as always being compared to your parents."

"… Okay, I'll admit that's freaking annoying."

After getting some recognition thanks to taking on jobs, the Sinclost had caught the attention of Sorcerer Weekly magazine and was interviewed. Through that magazine, their connection to Domilia and Zack was revealed to the whole kingdom, creating some type of hype about them.

Lately, Karissa and her siblings were being seen as amazing by products of her mother and father. While Van enjoyed basking in the light of fame, Pandora and Karissa were getting a bit annoyed. Pandora just hated being associated to their parents' names for every thing she did while Karissa just didn't like the undeserved hype.

"By the way, where are those headphones? I thought you left town with them."

Karissa puckered her lips a little. "Well, I got scared of dropping them on the train so I just tucked them away in my bag."

Laxus face palmed. "Unless you're swinging them around by the cable then I don't think you'll drop it, stupid."

"Shut up, lightning freak."

They both entered the guild hall together. The first thing that Karissa saw was Natsu flying down towards Laxus after leaping from some table.

"Laxus!" he shouted with a fistful of fire.

"Ugh, not again." Laxus groaned before smacking the boy to the side as he walked further inside the guild.

Natsu groaned on the ground.

Karissa looked around the guild for any of her friends that wasn't currently knocked out on the floor next to her. She found Cana waving at her from a distant table with Gray sitting across from her. With a bounce in her step, started making her way to them. But on the way there, she felt someone lock their arm with hers with a cheerful greeting.

"Welcome home, Karissa!"

"Hi, Lisanna."

The white haired girl removed her arm. "How was the job?"

"Er… well, it went okay."

Lisanna gave her a skeptical look. "That didn't sound too confident."

"I mean, I did my job and got my reward. So, it did go okay."

Still unconvinced, Lisanna only hummed as she nodded her head.

…

…

…

"You know, I just realized something…" Lisanna swung her legs back and forth as she watched Gray and Natsu duke it out in the guild. Cana and Karissa looked at her curiously.

"Karissa and I are a bit the same."

"How so?" Karissa tilted her head.

"We're both the third and youngest sibling." she beamed a smile.

Karissa blinked. They were both three? Wait.

"Now that you mention it," Cana looked at Karissa as she stared blankly at Lisanna. "Yeah, you both have two older siblings."

Karissa snapped out of it. "Oh, right."

She nearly forgot about that one detail.

…

…

…

Karissa forgot how her father used to tell her that finding things in common with other kids her age was one of the keys to forming a friendship. He was right. That small little thing that they had in common became the foundation of their friendship.

Karissa waved at Cana and Gray as she and Lisanna approached the table.

…

…

…

Domilia touched her chest where her heart was. "There."

Karissa put a hand on her finger and repeated what her mother said with a cocked head.

Domilia nodded with a smile, "That's right."

…

…

…

Karissa unconsciously rubbed the spot where her heart was.

YEAR X781.

…

…

…

Karissa was fifteen.

Now that only half of her rent was covered, she had been taking on more jobs than before to pay for the rest of the rent. Her rent money needed to be given to Erza ever since Hilda died. It was really unfortunate to find out that Hilda died from a carriage accident. She missed that old lady. She had grown to like her after spending a year at the dorm. She was strict but she was still kind to everyone.

Karissa never knew what having a grandmother felt like but Hilda made her feel like she had one.

Currently, Karissa and the girls were in the lobby playing a game of Old Maid. She had just returned home from her first job with Gray so this was a good way to relax. Even though she preferred having alone time to recharge, playing a game of Old Maid was always a fun way to relax.

"HAHA!"

"Aww! I got the Joker!" Levy whined after Mirajane pulled out the card she needed to form a pair.

Mirajane slapped down the cards on the table victoriously. "Sucker!"

Cana laughed while leaning back on her hands. "This is your third loss in a row! You gotta work on that luck, Levy."

"Ugh, I know." Levy put down her Joker card.

"Maybe you should stop sitting next to Mirajane." Karissa suggested with a small smirk. "I mean, you always lose when you sit next to her."

The said girl twitched before turning her head to narrow her eyes at her. "What are you trying to say? I'm the harbinger of bad luck?"

"No, she's just saying a logical thing." Pandora interjected, immediately going to her sister's rescue. "Stop putting words in her mouth."

"Oh, be quiet." Mirajane huffed. "I didn't ask you."

"We're here for a relaxing night. It's not a night for fighting." Erza stopped them before an argument broke out. As head of the dorm, she had a responsibility to uphold. They weren't the only girls living in the dormitory.

"We're not fighting." The two older sisters looked away from each other.

Lisanna, Cana, Levy and Karissa all looked at each other quietly. Pandora, Mirajane and Erza were three scary girls whenever they got angry. They had all seen in the three of them got locked into intense fights when they were young and immature. Of course, the fights didn't occur as much as it used to due to their growth and maturity as both people and mages.

"Anyway," Lisanna smiled. "How was your job with Gray?" she asked Karissa to change the subject.

"Huh?"

"That's right, we never asked how it went. Was the job successful?" Pandora wondered curiously.

Karissa pouted. "Yeeaah…"

…

"… We got rid of the bandits stealing from your people." Karissa told him while rubbing her fingers together.

The man in a suit cocked an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"I said, we got rid of the bandits."

"I can't hear you. Can you speak up?"

Karissa fingers twitched beneath her sleeve. She could feel Gray staring at her from the side as she started losing confidence to talk.

"Um." The black haired girl looked at Gray in a panic, she was beginning to sweat. Gray cleared his throat and spoke clearly for the man in front of them, repeating every word she said to him.

After getting their reward, Karissa silently walked next to Gray as they left the manor. The boy sneaked a glance when he saw her scratching her arm through her long sleeve. He lightly smacked her hand away with a look.

"Stop scratching it."

"It's itchy!" Karissa scowled. "Like shit, why does this happen to me?!" she whined.

"Look, just relax. We're leaving anyway. You can cool off when we get back in the hotel room, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah."

…

Karissa dropped her head in her knees as she remembered that scene. Cana, who was familiar with this pose, reached for her head and gave her sympathetic pats. Karissa always had this tough cool vibe to mask her anxiety and timidity that surfaced whenever something stressed her out. Some people were aware of how Karissa's skin would turn red and prickly whenever she started getting super nervous and stressed out. It happened around last year. When Pandora, Gray and Karissa were tasked with making a little show during the Fantasia Parade at the end of Harvest Festival, Gray was the one that pointed it out to the sisters at the end of the parade. Obviously, Pandora freaked out and nearly called a doctor if it were not for Gray, Van and Cana holding her back and trying to calm her down.

It wasn't really anything to be concerned about. It was appearing due to her feeling nervous. It faded away after twenty minutes or so.

Cana's friend had become the opposite of who she was seven years ago. It was surprising really.

"I got super nervous when the client kept telling me to speak louder." Karissa groaned. "I swear to god, that guy was probably doing it on purpose! I should have scattered his papers with my wind magic." she hissed.

"Good thing you didn't." Levy sweat dropped.

Erza clutched her fist tightly and lowered her head dramatically as she sympathized with her friend's distress. "They should at least see how uncomfortable you were."

"Seriously? Just for speaking louder?" Mirajane said, unimpressed.

"Anxiety is a complicated thing!" Pandora defended her, causing the older Strauss to raise her hands up in surrender.

"Do you think your anxiety is caused by feeling self-conscious?" Lisanna spoke up after giving her sister a pointed look. "Are you self-conscious about anything?"

Karissa lifted her head and was met with curious stares from all the girls in the lobby. With a sigh, she started to seriously think about it. Her hands were longer an issue for her since she felt tired of hiding them away behind sleeves to avoid comments. She needed her hands everyday for crying out loud. However, her arms and legs were usually hidden away since she felt more at ease wearing clothes that didn't expose her skin. She'd feel vulnerable showing it off since it felt so naked.

I can't really think of anything.

"… Other than knowing I'm not exactly pretty, I can't think of anything else— ACK! FUCK!" Karissa held the back of her head and gave the brown haired girl next to her a baffled look. "The hell, Cana?!"

"That looked like it hurt." Levy winced.

"I would have done it if she didn't." Pandora rolled her eyes.

"I don't know who the hell told you that but that's not true—"

"—That sentence was worth giving me a concussion?!"

"I'll give you another if you don't let me finish."

"…"

"Stop putting yourself down like that. You're pretty." Cana told her with a stern look, causing her to shift her eyes away. "Sure, you don't got the boobs like me, Erza and Pandora," Karissa furrowed her brows at that, wondering why she was suddenly talking about physical traits. "But you got a nice shape, including a nice butt and squishy thighs. There are guys who are into that." Cana slapped her thigh with her hand to prove her point, causing Karissa to grimace.

"I didn't come here to get sexually harassed." Karissa picked up Cana's hand like a dirty object and set it aside, "And I wasn't trying to get guys' attention, it's the last thing I want. Besides, I'm grateful for my smaller chest. You should hear Pandora complain about her back. I don't need back pain."

Pandora nodded her head in agreement with a soft sigh. She reached behind her and rubbed her back. "It does get painful sometimes."

"Exactly. I'm not trying to look like grandma over there."

That earned her another whack on the head, making her scowl.

"Who you calling grandma?! I'm only five years older than you!"

"Is that why you kept growing your bangs longer when we were kids?" Levy asked while pointing at her left sided bangs.

"Maybe, I dunno."

Erza, who somehow popped up at her side, patted her shoulder with a smile as she looked at her. "Don't worry, you're a pretty girl. I don't doubt that you'll find someone who will be attracted to you."

Karissa sweat dropped. "I just said that I didn't want to attract attention." Her voice dripped with exasperation. She sighed and shook her head, rubbing her face with her hand tiredly. "How did we end up with this topic?"

We need to move on from this…

Karissa dropped her hand on her lap and then scooted closer to the table to gather the cards together. "Anything new in the guild lately? Someone destroy anything?" she changed the subject while shuffling the cards in her hands gingerly.

The petite blue haired girl leaned back on the couch while looking upwards. "Well, I heard that Laxus formed a team with three people."

"Really? That arrogant guy did?" Cana raised a brow.

"Right!" Lisanna snapped her fingers in realization. "He teamed up with Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow. Apparently, they're calling themselves the Thunder God Tribe. Well," she put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's the three of them that call themselves that. I heard that they act as Laxus' bodyguards."

"So, basically it's a team for him. He's not in it." Cana summarized.

"Apparently." Erza spoke.

Pandora snorted and crossed her legs as she leaned back. "Now he's got bodyguards? Geez, that guy's so cocky. He was always so arrogant but it's like he got even worse when we both became S-Class."

"You and Laxus were the S-Class mages of X778." Lisanna remembered. "I forgot about that."

"Thinks he's hot stuff, that ass." Mirajane scoffed in annoyance.

Without saying a word, Karissa gave her friends some cards while thinking about the person she used to be close with. The girl had no idea how fragile their bond was for it to fall apart so easily. Whatever comfortable atmosphere they used to have just died a year after his father got excommunicated from Fairy Tail. It was at that age that Karissa's timidity was surfacing to the point where she found it difficult to voice out her opinions, it made her fall silent most of the time. Despite that, she tried her best to approach Laxus every now and then to try and talk and somehow help him. She wasn't stupid, she could see how agitated and distant he was becoming as he stepped more into the world of adults.

However, he made it very discouraging for her whenever he acted harsher than usual. Just a look of annoyance was enough to get her to lower her head and avoid making eye contact with him. She really did try her best to push down her anxiety.

It just wasn't enough. She had lost her bond with Laxus.

If only she was stronger enough to keep it.

While Karissa finished passing around the cards, Pandora couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the saddened look on her face.

YEAR X782

…

…

…

It was time.

Pandora was finally going to live her dream: to live in a house with her family again. She had been waiting for this day for ages. She had made arrangements to get her siblings to move out of the dormitory and into the new house she bought for them with their help. They had asked some people, who were free, to help the siblings move into their new home, they just needed to wait for everyone to arrive.

All their belongings were set outside the dormitory, ready to moved.

Pandora was waiting outside the dorm as she was keeping an eye out for those who were needed. Cana and Gray were getting ready to leave their own apartments to help them. Natsu and Happy were on their way back from a job that could have given them a hint about where Igneel was. Erza and Karissa were together in the resources room reading books.

They were reading books that they didn't really want anyone knowing about.

They were reading… smut novels.

Karissa didn't know what was about those novels but… she just ended up reading them every now and then. Karissa wasn't a fanatic about it. In fact, she preferred fantasy adventure books any day. She wasn't as bad as Erza who literally kept some hidden in her room like a guy hiding some porn magazines under their bed. She seriously felt like she was going to hell for reading such a thing before reaching the age of eighteen.

She felt like a damn pervert and a sinner.

As Karissa read a kissing scene between two characters, she recalled a memory that took place in a similar setting. It was an immature yet embarrassing act from back when she was eight. She nearly dropped her book right there and she wanted to grab her head and scream.

Good god, why did my eight year old ass kiss Lyon?!

Obviously, she did not feel the same as she did back then as time passed. That kiss did not swell her heart with love or some crap like that for a boy she hadn't seen in years. No, it made her brain play that embarrassing scenario at night every once in a while when she just wanted to sleep. It made her wanted to crawl in a hole. If only she could just jump back and time and punch herself for giving that guy a kiss on the mouth.

Karissa let out a heavy sigh.

Erza, who was reading her erotic novel, averted her eyes away from the page and saw her friend with her head on the table, looking exhausted.

"What's the matter, Karissa?"

"I just want to end it all." She groaned.

"What on earth are you saying?" Erza asked, concerned.

"Hey! You guys in here?!" Pandora's voice echoed upstairs.

Karissa flinched. She didn't even hear her come in!

In attempt to hide the evidence, the book flew out of her hands and was pitched into a darker area of the floor she was on just before her mother could look down from the upper floor. Erza, the head of the dorm, gave her a reproachful look for mistreating the dorm's property which Karissa just ignored. Erza may be scary but her sister was even scarier sometimes.

The scarlet haired woman bookmarked her page and looked up at the older girl.

"I assume everyone is ready?"

"Yep! Natsu just got back and he's fighting with Gray outside. Let's go." Pandora said cheerfully, clearly excited. She skipped out of the resources room while humming a playful tune.

Pandora had changed a lot compared to her previous reclusive self. She had slowly come out of her shell and started getting more social with the girls in the dorm a year after they joined. This change made both Van and Karissa elated since it felt like she didn't have to carry such a heavy burden anymore, freeing her from so much responsibility and allowing her to live more freely.

"Those idiots better not end up freezing or lighting up any of my stuff!" Karissa shouted as she darted to the book she threw to place it back on the table.

Erza chuckled softly as she got up from her chair. "I do hope they won't be fighting during the move in. There's a time and place for that."

"Yeah or else my sister will just eradicate them on the spot." Karissa cackled as she ran up the stairs.

…

…

…

Gray whistled as they entered the house. "This is a nice place."

Cana nodded as she looked around. "Yeah, seriously."

"I was surprised when I first saw it too." Karissa said while taking off her shoes.

The brown haired girl sighed and shook her head. "That's it. I gotta sleepover in this big house one day. I have to." She shrugged lightly, making Karissa snicker.

"Take it up with Pandora." Karissa picked up a box meant for the kitchen area and shuffled to the counter.

With that, the two started helping Karissa with putting the boxes in their designated areas.

The party was divided into two groups. The first group was Gray, Karissa and Cana while the second was Pandora, Van, Natsu, Happy and Erza. The first group was in charge of taking care of the boxes while the second had to take care of the furniture that needed to be transported to the house. Gray and Karissa just needed to make some ice carriages to bring all the boxes to the house and then start putting them inside the house with Cana.

The house had two floors. The ground floor was pretty big as it had both the kitchen and living room in the same area. The second floor was where the rooms were located. They had four in total.

After dealing with all the kitchen-named boxes, Karissa decided to start with her own boxes. She went upstairs and, just like when she first arrived at the dorms eight years ago, her door had a piece of paper stuck to it with her name on it. She turned the doorknob of her room and pushed it open with her shoulder since her hands were busy. Inside, she found all the furniture she bought for herself. Her room looked quite similar to the one she had back at the dorm. Her sister thought it would be a good idea to get the rooms ready before they moved in so that could just crash on the bed when the day was over.

At the sight of the number of boxes that needed to be taken care of, she already just wanted to go and crash into her new bed.

Karissa made a small ice blade and then opened the box, revealing some sketchbooks, art supplies and a familiar beanie, a scarf and a stuffed animal. She seriously had no idea why she put those last unrelated things in there. With a small grin, she gently took them out of the box and looked at them.

"It's been so long since I've had these…" Karissa mumbled to herself as she walked to the drawer. She pulled it open and tucked away the beanie inside with the scarf. As much as she wanted to keep them out in the open, she knew they would just end up dusty by the time winter came. She still used them during cold weathers.

When her ears picked up the sound of feet walking towards her room, she looked at the doorway and waited for the person to show themselves. With two boxes piled in his arms, Gray appeared in her room and gently put down the boxes a few feet away from her door.

Great his shirt disappeared again.

"What are you doing?" he stood up straight. Karissa noted how tall he was.

Back when they were eight, Karissa was the taller one out of Lyon and Gray. But now, Gray was way taller than her and it shocked her when she first noticed it. According to Levy, boys get their growth spurts later than girls so it was pretty normal for him to grow taller than her.

"Just putting away some things."

Now that they were older, Gray had quite the laid back attitude. When he joined the guild, she got back that lively spirit he used to have before the whole Deliora incident. He even became quite the pompous and reckless brat since he was so confident in his abilities. But as he grew older and took on more jobs, he became more cautious and cared a lot about his friends. Sometimes she shamelessly took advantage of that whenever she got timid on a job they took together, letting him deal with the social parts of the job.

She didn't hate him anymore. He never begged for her forgiveness but she still gave it to him. It took her a while to fully forgive him though. Ur wouldn't want her to keep clinging on that hate since it wouldn't do her any good.

"Already?" Gray put a hand on his hip. "You can do that later, Karissa." he simply said while looking at the stuffed animal she had in her hands. He walked closer to her. "You still have this?" He took it from her and moved it around in his hands, listening to the gentle jingle.

Karissa raised an eyebrow at that. "What about it?"

Gray shrugged. "Nothing. Just a little surprised that you have it. I thought you'd give it away or something." he gave it back to her which she took back and settled it on top of the drawer in a sitting positing against the wall.

"Hell no!" Karissa exclaimed as she closed the drawer. "It's mine." She said in a slight childish manner which just made him shake his head with a small smile. Together, they exited her room and went back downstairs to go and take care of more boxes with Cana.

Not long after, the rest of the gang showed up at the house with all the rest of the things the house needed. Pandora and Erza dealt with moving around the living room furniture they brought while the rest was busy helping the others finish with the boxes and unboxing them. Gray and Natsu nearly destroyed Van's room when they met up in there, causing Erza to march up the stairs and give them a piece of her mind.

Cana and Karissa sweat dropped when they heard the two boys shrieking in fear.

Like when they first met, Cana and Karissa were in the latter's room putting away the clothes in drawers and the closet. It was such a nostalgic deja-vu.

Cana smirked and held up an underwear that was striped in fun colours. "Aw, how cute." She remarked as Karissa hung up her clothes in the closet.

The black haired girl looked over her shoulder curiously and gaped when she saw her friend holding up her underwear. With a groan, she strode over to her and tried snatching it out of her grasp. Cana just laughed and rolled away from her reach.

"You still wear this kind of underwear?" she twirled it around her finger with a laugh.

"What of it?!"

"Look at this! You even got a pure white panties! Man, you are such a pure child sometimes."

Karissa deadpanned. "I'm not trying to go risqué over here."

"You should try. I mean look at me." Cana gestured to her top that revealed most of her stomach.

"I'm sixteen!"

"So, what? Me too. Pandora still buys your underwear though? Man, she's such a mom."

Karissa swooped in and grabbed her underwear and the box she took it from away from her, making her pout in dissatisfaction. "She technically is."

"What's going on in here?" Van poked his head in her room, making her curl around her box to hide her undergarments from her brother. He blinked at the odd position his sister was in.

Cana grinned and waved her hand dismissively, "Nothing pretty boy. Run along."

Feeling unwanted, Van just gave them a pout before leaving without asking another question.

Her brother was still the same as he was when he joined Fairy Tail aside from the fact that he had developed quite the temper. The last time he got angry, Makarov had to write an apology letter to a town in the west since Van had destroyed something with his earth magic. That single incident made people wary about making the boy angry. Despite his occasional short tempers, he was a nice guy. He tried to control his temper to a certain degree. His temper was one thing that distinguished him from his father since he was told that he was a spitting image of him.

Karissa sighed in relief and sat up properly. Then she got up and went to close her door before anyone else walked in on them putting away anything that she didn't want other people to see. Karissa and Cana finished up emptying the rest of the boxes and then went downstairs with the empty cardboard boxes. They dumped them in the corner where the rest of the boxes were found.

Cana stretched her arms before plopping down on the couch next to Van. "Man, I'm so tired from all of that!"

"I'm so hungry." Happy sat on the table after flying around. "You got any fish, Pandora?"

"Nope, sorry."

"Boo."

"I have an idea!" Cana grinned. "How about we order some food and crash in the living room as a way to celebrate the Sinclost siblings moving into this big fat house!"

Karissa perked up in her spot next to Gray. "Oh shit, you were serious?"

"Of course! Look at this freaking place!"

"A sleepover like the good old days." Erza put a hand under her chin as a nostalgic smile graced her face. "It sounds nice."

"No way, I'm not sleeping in the same room as Mr. Stripper over there." Natsu pointed his chin at Gray with a childish frown.

Gray narrowed his eyes at the fire mage and then clicked his tongue. "Ditto. You're welcome to leave pyro."

"You leave, you flasher!"

"Don't tell me what to do, pink haired freak!"

Van rolled his eyes. "Great here we go."

Karissa sighed exasperatedly when the two continued trading insults from where they sat. Normally, they would physically be at each other's throats by now or something but Erza's presence in the room just made them stay put like good dogs. She glanced at Erza and still found her smiling at the fond memories of the past seemingly unbothered by the bickering.

Yeah right. I doubt it's happening.

…

…

It happened.

Karissa was exhausted physically from the whole day that she didn't bother fighting her sister's decision to have a sleepover when all she wanted was a night of peace and quiet. After eating and talking, everyone was knocked out on the living room from the long day.

She was currently on her back, staring at the foreign ceiling above her head as she listened to Natsu snore somewhere in the corner of the room.

Thank god I'm not sleeping next to that dragon boy.

She could actually handle noisy environments enough to fall asleep to it, just not tonight.

Karissa held her hand up above her and she could she clearly see that outlines thanks to the moonlight peeking through the curtains. She just kept staring at her hand without really thinking of anything.

Man... I'm already sixteen...

The girl felt someone's knee bumped into her side. Her hand dropped back down to her side as she whipped her head towards the person that broke her moment of spacing out. It was Gray. He literally rolled out of his bed and was sleeping on his side.

Karissa narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. "Geez." she muttered before frowning at him.

She shifted around in her bed to stick her foot out and push his body back towards his bed. With an annoyed groan, Gray rolled back into his bed with a soft snore, causing Karissa to snort silently.

"Yeah, get away you weirdo." she stuck her tongue out before throwing the blanket over her head.

Chapter Text

"Just for taking out some bandits?" Karissa chewed on a piece of chocolate. She averted her eyes away from the flyer to look at Gray who was seated in front of her.

"Guess he must be pretty desperate." Gray crossed his legs and propped his head up on the side next to the window.

"Still, 70,000 jewels is pretty big. This guy must be pretty rich then." Karissa covered a yawn with her sleeve.

For the past few months, Karissa had been going on jobs with Gray every now and then. They weren't a team, but because it was more fun as group, they decided to stick together sometimes, they enjoyed each other's company.

It wasn't until they became sixteen that they decided to become an on and off team. Sometimes Gray preferred going on jobs alone. Karissa did as well but also liked going on jobs with Pandora and Van every one in a while. To the girl, it was always more fun as a group, it was less lonesome and dull.

The long haired girl sighed as she sat in a criss cross manner. She paused. "My god… I can't believe we're becoming adults next year…"

Gray lifted a brow, he glanced at his friend. "Where's this coming from?" he spoke behind his fingers.

The girl only shrugged as she brushed her bangs away from her eye. "I'm just pointing it out. We're… not kids anymore." She said, almost sadly.

The boy in front of her lowered his hand and gave her a slight incredulous look. "You want to stay a kid?" his voice carried a playful tone.

"That's not what I meant." Karissa rolled her eyes. "Things are going to change when we become adults and stuff."

Her friend just laughed a little at that. "C'mon, it's not going to be a major thing. We're going to be able to do more things in life once we become adults. Trust me, it'll be fun."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Well, the law can't stop me from drinking alcohol once I turn eighteen."

"At least you could wait for that unlike Cana." Karissa snickered and just put her hood on. "I'm staying the heck away from that."

"Geez, you need to get a little excited about it."

"Nah." Karissa lowered her legs and reached in her back for her headphones. "Wake me up when we get there. I'm going to sleep since I slept late last night." She told him before shutting him out of her music-only world.

Gray just chose to watch the moving scenery outside the window to pass the time. They weren't going to get off at any station to change trains. It was a one-way trip, but because the town was located somewhere further to east of Fiore, that meant that the trip was going to be a long one.

He wasn't sure how many minutes had passed but he was starting to get sleepy himself. He chided himself for not bringing something from his house to keep him busy during the ride. From his peripheral vision, he could see Karissa's head slowly falling forward and then shooting back upwards before repeating the cycle. He could just doze off right now too. He caught sight of her head thumping against the window next to her right as he looked away from her.

"Ouch." Gray whispered to himself as he lowered his hand on his lap, observing her for a few seconds. Then with a soft sigh, he grabbed his bag as he stood up to sit next to her. He gently reached for the side of her head and nudged it towards him so she could rest her head on his shoulder in a way where she wouldn't feel uncomfortable with her headphones.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back as stared at the window again.

There was some chatter coming from somewhere in the cabin that accompanied the usual sound of the moving train. Still, his ears were more focused on the soft ballad. Her music was leaking out of her headphones. The gentle music had his eyelids feeling heavier and heavier.

Gray blinked slowly. There wasn't any point in fighting it anymore. He just succumbed to the gentle embrace of sleep.

…

…

…

Karissa slowly opened her eyes, she breathed out through her nose while she gathered her bearings, and then wondered why she was resting her on something stable. Seeing that Gray was absent in front of her, she shifted her eyes to look down at the side where she found the familiar dark green pants he was wearing earlier along with the long white jacket.

With a finger, she pushed up her hood to look up like a curious child.

Yeah, he was knocked out. She inwardly smiled at his act of kindness.

With a poorly covered yawn, she lifted her head off his shoulder slowly and gently to not wake him. When she successfully sat up properly, she checked the current status of the train's schedule. The girl felt relief and a slight scare flood her when she noticed that their stop was next.

If I didn't wake up… we probably would've skipped it.

After meeting up with the client, which was revealed to be the mayor of the town, they were given a quick briefing of the situation. Apparently, the group of bandits were in town but they were blending in with the townspeople. No one had an idea about what they looked like since they were always masking their faces whenever they looted a store. So far, four stores had been robbed, leaving the owners in quite a depressed state.

All they knew was that some of the bandits liked stopping by the pub to kill time until nightfall. They just could never tell who they were among the customers.

That was more than enough for Gray to come up with something.

Instead of paying for two separate rooms, the two ice mages sometimes pitched in for a single room with two beds. That only happened when the inns or hotels had ridiculous prices. It was easier on their wallets that way.

They shared a single bed only three times due to certain problems in the inn or the hotel. But all they had to do was jam a pillow between them while he kept in mind her threat of killing him if he tried anything, and then everything was all good. Of course, she never told this to Pandora or else she would have flipped out and probably killed him.

The single bed agreement was hush-hush.

She threw her bag in the middle of the nearest bed in the room and sat on the longer side.

"So, what do we do?" Karissa played with the keys of the room by gently tossing it up again and again. "Do we go asking around if someone has seen anyone suspicious lately? From there, we could… find them and interrogate them?"

"Nah, that's too much trouble." Gray sat at the end of the of her bed instead of his. "We'll just go to the pub and act as employees. After all, that's where the mayor said those guys like to hang out. It'll be faster that way to track down the rest of them."

Karissa jerked her head in his direction. "… Y… You mean like as a waiter and waitress…?" the keys fell on her lap.

"Yup."

"… Uh, Gray. I don't think I can do that." Karissa scratched her neck with an uneasy expression. "That's a freaking bar where all the drunkies hang out. I don't wanna go there. I… I don't feel comfortable." she said, feeling intimidated by the thought.

Gray scratched the back of his head. "I get that you're feeling anxious but just think about it."

He understood that she got anxious about certain things. At first, he used to take it so lightly and used to call her out for being silly. His obstinate self back then once made her too uncomfortable to the point where she just walked away from him and hid herself somewhere to calm down. After getting an earful from Cana, he went to apologize. Since then, he learned to take her worries seriously, allowing him to get an idea of how much of an obstacle anxiety was for her sometimes.

"But I don't know how to act like a waitress! What if I fuck up?!" Karissa bit her lip and stared at the wooden floor. "I don't know what's going to happen…" the girl felt her arms get warmer as she started overthinking the dreadful scenario.

Plus, I have to wear a uniform to play the part… A damn skirt.

Ugh, no. I don't want to work in there!

I might even get too distracted to focus on the mission.

I rather be on an S-Class quest that I'm not ready for!

Gray put up one leg on the bed so he shifted around and look at her while she looked lost in thought. She was freaking out about the idea of trying something out of her comfort zone. That wasn't a new sight for him.

"You don't need to really be a waitress. You're just pretending to be one." Gray pointed out.

"… What?" Karissa gave him a perplexed look.

"You're not getting paid to act like a waitress. If you don't want to smile and greet them, then don't."

She paused, now thinking about what he was saying and adding sense to it. The dozens of worries and thoughts in her mind were still somewhat going wild but slowly becoming less.

"Can I just drop their orders on the table and leave without saying anything?" she finally asked after a moment of silence. "I don't need to tell them 'enjoy your damn order' or anything like that?"

Gray smirked at that. "Just do what you want to do. All we really need to do is keep our ears open for any suspicious chatter."

"… Will you help me if I get stuck or something?" Karissa asked, hopefully.

"Sure. But, don't worry, it'll be fine. You don't need to worry so much if it hasn't even happened."

Little nudges for her to step out of her comfort zone was immensely helpful, she just didn't realize it.

"Just don't toss the food on the table and run." Gray teased her with a playful grin which was responded with a chuckle.

"I'm not that shy."

The girl understood that everything he said made sense, but she still worried about whether or not she could accomplish it. She trusted Gray.

She had to play her part and not hold him back.

With a heavy sigh, she grasped a handful of the sheets like as if grasping onto some courage.

Okay.

…

…

…

Karissa gripped the counter.

I'm mentally exhausted.

She was wearing a classy waitress outfit. A white dress shirt, a block bow, a black vest, white stockings and a black skirt. Oh, she felt so uncomfortable. Not to mention that her hidden bare arms were prickling.

I feel hiding in my own bed after all this.

With the mayor's help, they were permitted to work in the pub alongside the other employees. She absolutely despised walking up to the tables and taking orders out of fear of not catching what the customer wanted and screwing up. But she kept recalling that she wasn't a real waitress so it wouldn't matter if she messed up. That thought alone got her to relax a bit. Every now and then, when she passed by Gray, he would pat her on the back to encourage her to keep at it.

The tension from those four hours she spent working and gathering information was released from her body. As much as she hated to admit it, it was actually easier to do their job this way. Karissa and Gray communicated every now and then when they were free for a minute or two. They were able to learn where they were planning on meeting up in the town, and with the pub owner's help, they were able to figure out which place they were trying to steal from.

Thank god everyone is leaving now…

One of the waitresses working there passed by her behind the counter and gave her a smile, she could probably see how worn out she was. Karissa's only response was an uneasy forced smile.

Karissa whipped around.

THE FUCK?!

She found a young man smiling innocently at her behind. However, his hand wasn't quite as innocent as his face considering how it was moving away after touching her waist.

"Can I help you?" Karissa asked suddenly in a defensive manner that sounded quite rude. Her mind didn't feel like back peddling to rethinking what she just did since she was currently in a semi-fight or flight mode.

"Yeah, just wondering if you're working here again tomorrow." Karissa leaned away when he got closer. He stunk of booze. "Because I've never seen you here before. I dig chicks with black hair."

Ah? So as long as they have black hair you have hormones raging? Gotcha. MOVE, BUCKO!

Before she could say anything, Gray stepped in and put the tray in between the two's faces and gave the man a business-type of smile. "Sir, I'm afraid we're closing so I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. The owner is quite strict about his schedule, you see."

Karissa stared at Gray from behind the tray.

"Who the heck are you?"

Karissa looked at the tray with a frown.

"Just a guy working part-time."

"Well you should mind your own business." The man clicked his tongue in annoyance and shot Gray a glare before turning around and leaving without another word.

…

…

…

"FUCK THAT GUY!"

Gray shut the backroom door behind him and just stared at the mess.

A box got blow to bits after receiving several wind blades.

"Calm down. It's over and dealt with." Gray walked past her to go and grab his bag that had his usual clothes inside.

Karissa ripped off the bow around her collar and clutched it in her hand tightly. "Out of all the girls waitressing here, he chose to hit on me?! He needs to get his eyes freaking checked out!" she spat, greatly repulsed, tossing the bow in a nearby chair.

Gray patted her shoulder as he walked by her with his things. "Well, you looked good in the uniform."

Flustered by the out of the blue compliment, Karissa grimaced in order to hide it. "Yeah right."

After changing back into their regular clothes, they headed out and took a longer route to the place where the bandits were supposed to be at. They were targeting a store that was selling jewelry.

Behind a wall, Karissa held out a hand. In her palm swirled wind that shot up into the dark night and darted to the other side of corner, searching. She concentrated on her magic like as if she was threading a needle. By focusing on the wind and keeping a part of it with her, she was able to create a sixth sense.

"… There are about ten or eleven of them just around the corner." She said before dispelling the wind before they could notice. She looked at Gray who was standing next to her. "Let's go?"

Gray nodded once with a sneaky grin and then took a head start as they ran. Karissa had to smack his shirt away from her face when it flew off him.

Curiously, one of the bandits peeked around the corner when he heard the incoming footsteps. He jolted when he felt magic power in the air that was caused by Gray preparing a magic spell.

"Ice Make: Lance!"

The bandit let out a shout and leaned away. "Shit! They're on to us!" he narrowly avoided getting hit by Gray's attack.

Gray and Karissa heard the bandits running away down the street on the other side.

Perfect.

Without saying anything, Karissa created a small ice platform which she used as a springboard. She jumped into the air and let herself get carried away by her wind magic. From above, she could see the bandits splitting up into two groups after reaching the end of the street. She flew downwards and moved past Gray to point him in the direction where one group went after he reached the end of the street. From there, they split up and chased after their targets.

I think it's better if I stay in the air.

Karissa looked like she was gliding against the concrete floor while she chased them.

"Fire Net!" one of them casted towards her. A huge net of fire appeared in front of her, making the nearby townspeople scream in fear.

Karissa held up two fingers near her face and narrowed her eyes. "Wind Blast!" she sliced the air, creating a powerful blast of wind that won against the fire, successfully putting it out, protecting herself and the people around her. With her other hand, she made a straight hand and made a similar slashing motion. "Wind Lance!"

She casted her spell so quickly that the bandits barely had enough time to react. An arc of wind shot towards them from behind. The ones closer to her got knocked down, reducing the number of people escaping. The others had a quicker reaction time as they avoided the wind attack.

She stopped her wind and stood in front of those who were on the ground. Before they could try and escape, she slammed her fist into her palm and stepped back. "Ice-Make: Coffin!"

A huge coffin made of a thick layer of ice shot up from underneath them, shocking them all. When it became tall enough, the cover shot up and slammed closed. She heard them trying to break free but the ice was too reinforced for them to fight through it. Karissa tapped the surface with a grin. "Yeah, don't try to fight it." she muttered.

She blinked when she remembered that she was still in the middle of the street. The girl looked around and saw the people staring at her. Her gaze skittered away from them as she rubbed the back of her neck.

There was a brief silence.

"... Can someone... alert the military personnel or something...?" Karissa asked awkwardly.

A young woman with glasses blinked and then snapped out of it. "Oh, y-yeah! Sure!" she said as she ran off.

Okay...

Karissa looked ahead and saw that the bandits were getting further away.

Oof, we can't have that.

Karissa ran after them until she was running at full speed. "Coming through! Make way!" she warned the people before her wind carried her.

"SHE'S COMING!"

A flurry of magic flew her way but she easily evaded them.

Then, with her wind magic, she flung herself forward until she was a few feet ahead of them, causing them to skid to a stop.

"What the hell?!"

"She's so fast!"

"Ice-Make:" Karissa slammed her fist in her palm as her shoes scratched the floor when she skidded to a stop and she swiveled around to face them. "Ice Halberd!" she gripped the polearm tightly and zoomed towards them like a predator, making them shriek at the sight of her. The next thing they knew, their gut collided with the pole which knocked any fight out of them. As soon as they fell limp on the ice pole, she darted back with a burst of wind whence she came while carrying them. With a simple swing, she flung them onto the coffin and knocked them out.

Completely, oblivious to the fact that she just wrecked several stands with the sharp end of her weapon.

Karissa stopped a few feet away with her ice weapon in her hands.

These bandits didn't really put up much of a challenge.

The remaining culprits she captured were restrained with sturdy ice handcuffs.

I didn't even deplete that much magic.

Karissa opened and closed her hand under the moonlight when she felt the chill of her ice magic fade.

As she grew older, the abnormal amount of magic power she possessed as a child continued to grow larger, allowing her to cast spells without really breaking a sweat. She trained hard to become a mage worthy of it. Her container of Ethernano was way larger than the average mage. That simple difference was what made her different from others. It worried her a little since she didn't know what kind of consequences it had on her body internally. But Master Makarov had told her that her parents never once had an issue about it, that somewhat quelled her worries.

If only I knew the cause...

From the hearing all the commotion, military personnel that was dispatched nearby, came running. They found Karissa sitting on a plate of ice that was being gently swayed by the wind up in the air, motioning them to come over and take care of the bandits she was watching. Not long after, Gray came back with an ice cart that had all his targets unconscious in it. They looked pretty battered from dealing with him.

"How'd it go?" Karissa brought herself closer to the ground.

Gray shattered the ice cart, making the bandits plop on the ground in a pile. "They got pretty far, I'll admit, but they were weak—"

"Gray! Your clothes! Your frigging thing is hanging out!" Karissa slapped her hands on her eyes.

"Wha-?! Shit!"

"Ugh…"

Karissa looked at the one groaning in pain. It was that same guy who put his filthy hand on her, his mask had broken, making his face visible. Immediately, she was filled with the same repulsion from earlier. When the bandit saw that she was staring down at him on her plate of ice, she huffed and closed her eyes before hopping off. She landed on his hand, causing him to yowl in pain.

Gray sweat dropped and cringed as she skipped over to him like she didn't just crush some guy's fingers.

"Let's go get that reward~!" Karissa sang innocently. "... After we fetch your clothes."

…

…

…

Since the night was still young, Gray and Karissa decided to look around town after receiving their reward from the mayor. It was after finally receiving their reward that they realized that they were hungry. They had not eaten anything since they arrived in the town which was exactly five hours ago, so, they went to some nearby restaurant that was not quite filled with people.

Karissa was left astounded by how much her friend ordered. He wasn't a glutton like Natsu when it came to appetite but he certainly had his moments whenever something good was presented in front of him.

Gray leaned back in his chair and sighed happily. "Oh man, this food was great. Definitely one of the places I'll come back to when I'm nearby."

Karissa just chuckled. "Yeah, the food is good but I'm not a fan of their pork. The way they seasoned it tasted funny." She scooped up a piece of her mango. She was glad that the restaurant had some fruits on the menu, especially one she liked since it was rare to see it on a menu in a restaurant.

"You wanna keep looking around while places are still open?" he asked her while she chewed. "Because I'm still curious about the stuff they have here. I saw an interesting place while chasing those guys."

"Nah, I think I'll head back to the inn. I'm getting lethargic from eating." Karissa pointed her spoon at her empty plate. Then she plopped the skin of the fruit on the plate.

Gray just chortled in response. "Alright, I'll go pay."

Karissa blinked as he started getting up. "You want me to pitch in?"

"Nah, it's fine. I got it." He said coolly, "Just stay here."

"Kaaaay." Kairssa drawled.

…

…

…

Karissa looked over her shoulder to watch Gray wander off on his own. She stopped walking and kept staring at his back until he completely disappeared from her sight. Then she smirked to herself and started walking the way he went but turned halfway to the left on a corner of a street.

"Hopefully I can get something good…" Karissa muttered.

…

…

…

Karissa shut the door and then sat down on her bed with a satisfied smile. She pulled out a box from her jacket's pocket and opened it, pulling out the object inside.

"I think it looks cool." She mumbled while playing around with the object in her hand. "And it's pretty simple so I think it's okay."

She flopped backwards on the bed and held it up to the light.

"I hope he likes it."

The next morning, Karissa was eating bread with melted cheese on top at some random breakfast café she found after aimlessly wandering the streets. She woke up before Gray and found him sound asleep with his back facing her, obviously, since he stayed out longer than she did. She wasn't sure how long he was out for since she was really dead asleep minutes after closing the lights. After getting up slowly and quietly, she left the room after changing in the bathroom and went off on her own with her wallet to get something to eat.

On her way to the café, she found a Sorcerer magazine and decided to use it as a distraction while she ate.

Karissa took a long sip of her orange juice and flipped the page.

She read through a page that focused on Natsu. They were writing about the Salamander's destructive nature once again. It seemed like Natsu was usually pointed out in one way or another in the magazine since it helped the magazine write great articles.

On the next page, she found Mirajane and Pandora posing for some fashion outfits. Karissa couldn't help but think how pretty her sister looked in the picture. She wondered how could her sister project that much confidence in just a single picture.

Karissa bit off a piece of her bread.

There were times when the magazine had requested the Sinclost siblings to come and model in some cool outfits in the past after having done some interviews. They gained popularity after people learned that they were offsprings of Zack and Domilia, but, because of their own unique identities and skills, they were able to separate themselves slowly from their parents' popularity. Karissa felt a bit anxious about answering questions in an interview, she couldn't imagine what kind of stress she'd be in if she stood in front of a camera. For that reason, Van decided to play the hero for her sake and turn down the offer so that the majority of the family wouldn't have to go through with it. Pandora, however, thought it would be good to do it for the sake of moola so she still ended up doing it once in a while.

Karissa refused to do it two years ago.

But now…

I wonder if I would be able to pull it off…?

… Agh, no. What am I saying? I can't.

She could handle the interview questions now since she got used to them, but the idea of doing what Pandora did still made her feel uneasy.

"Morning."

Karissa glanced up, her eyes followed the person until the took a seat in front of her who dropped something near her foot. She didn't have to look under the table to understand that it was her bag.

"Oh, good morning." She greeted Gray back. A tray was settled in front of her. He got himself some type of sandwich for breakfast. "Took you exactly… An hour to get up. Pretty long if you ask me."

"Who cares, we're not in a rush anyway." He took a bite out of his sandwich.

"I could have left you there and just went home." Karissa grinned and continued reading.

"You're messed up."

"Heh."

She stuck her finger in between in a random part of the magazine and then flipped it open. She was on page 31.

Karissa and Gray narrowed their eyes at the page.

There were a bunch of pictures that focused on pairings in Fairy Tail.

Why, that looks an awful lot like me and Gray in this picture.

"Great. What's this?" Gray angled the magazine around so he could get a better look, making the two inch closer to the edge of the table with angled heads.

Karissa Sinclost and Gray Fullbuster! Two ice mages from Fairy Tail! Quite the intriguing pair, especially with their long history together!

There was a picture of her and Gray walking side by side.

Next to their picture was one of Bisca Mulan and Alzack Connell.

It was a gossip type of article.

"Long histo… what the? Who told them?!" Karissa's jaw dropped. She looked at Gray, "I bet it was Mira or something. She likes to gossip."

Gray heaved out a sigh and moved the magazine back in front of her. "Bah, just ignore it."

Karissa titled her head a little, "You're not annoyed?"

"They're just doing it for the readers. Whatever they come up with are just going to be rumors." He replied, cool and composed, not perturbed by the article in the slightest.

This made his friend laugh mockingly and gave him a scornful look that he knew was hiding amusement by the glint in her eyes. "Right. And to think that just years ago, you literally pushed me for getting teased about it."

Gray dropped his head at that which only served to amuse her even more. He lifted his head and his mouth had formed a thin line. "I was a kid! Are you never going to let that go?!"

Karissa faked a pleasant smile. "Nope." She said, popping the 'p'. "I'm afraid my good memory won't let me forget."

Gray clicked his tongue. He leaned back in his seat continued eating. Always count on Karissa to remember specific details of the past.

"Can't believe it took two days to apologize."

"You kept running away!" he shot back.

"Did I?" Karissa looked up thoughtfully.

Gray didn't entertain her with an answer and just continued eating his breakfast. He was thinking that they should just take their time and maybe look around one considering how they finished their job pretty fast. It was probably better to choose a more challenging job next time. It was good to look at the reward money but also to consider the experience earned.

When his friend reached down for her bag, he didn't really pay attention and just looked outside the window behind, watching two children playing around together. Then when he felt his plate bump against his hand, he looked down and saw that she was silently looking at him.

He brushed the side of his mouth with his thumb to wipe away a crumb. "What?" he looked down at the table and found a rectangular black box on top of the magazine. "What's that?"

"I got it for you." Karissa gently knocked her finger on its side. "Open it."

Gray put down his sandwich and wiped off the crumbs on his hand onto his plate, and then reached for it, wondering what was inside the box. It felt light. He carefully held the bottom of the box by the edges before lifting off the cover, revealing a necklace inside.

"Whoa," Gray put down the cover and stared at it. It was a silver necklace that had a piece that was shaped like a cross and a sword with a small stone in the middle. Puzzled, he looked at her with clear question marks in his eyes. "Why?" he lifted the sword-cross with his finger.

Karissa put her elbow on the table and propped her chin up with her hand. "Well, Van got a wine glass from Loke when he was seventeen since he was turning eighteen. I thought that was a cool way to celebrate his eighteenth. So… I decided to do the same for you." she explained slowly to make sure she got through to him. "I tried getting something pretty simple. That was the only thing I saw last night that would probably suit your taste."

"Oh, so you got this while heading back." he nodded in realization.

Karissa nodded. "But yeah, that's what I decided to get you since you're turning eighteen."

She grew a little concerned when he just looked back down at it without saying anything. "But, er, if you don't want it, then it's fine. I can still return it."

Yeesh, maybe he doesn't like it… I probably should have just copied Loke and just gave him a wine glass.

Her gaze skittered away for a moment, wondering what else she should say. She looked back at him, and at last he finally responded, he was smiling as he took the necklace out of the box.

"Thanks. I really like it."

Her eyebrows rose after blinking several times, "Really?"

"I mean, I didn't expect to get jewelry from you, but I like it enough to wear it everyday."

"Whoa now, you don't have to go that far, Gray." Karissa lowered his hands when he was about to put it on.

"Why not? It looks cool."

Karissa lifted a brow and then leaned away a little to give him a knowing look. "You serious?"

She knew he was all about looking cool and all that, but she just wasn't sure if he was playing around.

"You don't have to wear it everyday."

Gray lightly flicked her forehead which made her stare at his finger with furrowed brows, feeling slightly offended by the gesture.

"Ow?"

"I'm not about to say that and lie." Gray simply told her as he reached behind his neck and clasped it, letting it drop in front. "It's mine now. So, I'll wear it whenever I want."

Karissa blinked. "Um, okay..."

It looks good on him. It suits him.

"Thanks again. You know me well, huh?"

Hearing that, Karissa straightened up with pride. "Of course!"

When they got back at the guild, Karissa and Gray parted ways when they were greeted by the other members. Elfman and Gray went to sit somewhere while Karissa went with Mirajane to the bar where she asked for a glass of orange juice.

"How did the job go, Karissa?" Mirajane asked with a smile, sliding her glass in front of her.

"Hm… kind of quick. Those bandits weren't much of a challenge." Karissa grabbed a straw next to Mirajane and plopped it into her cup. "I didn't exert much magic power. I know the reason why… but I just…"

Mirajane patted her head. "Aw, don't worry about it. The master said that you shouldn't be so concerned about it."

Karissa sighed and bit her straw. "Yeah, I know. But I still can't help but wonder if something is wrong with me… Like what if I'm getting some internal damage or something and I'm not even aware of it? I'd be dead on some random job and you guys wouldn't even know about it. You'd find my body mutilated by some crows that were scavenging for food."

The white haired woman removed her hand off her head, giving her a cheeky smile. "Yes, but I'm sure Gray would do his best to keep you alive with all these jobs you guys keep going on together recently."

Karissa snickered and gave the guild hall an observation in order to find Gray, she found him with Cana, Van and Elfman, his shirt and pants long gone, leaving him alone in his underwear along with the new necklace. "He better or else I'm going to haunt his ass."

Mirajane was quick to spot the necklace he was wearing and notice that it was not something he usually wore.

"Has he always had that necklace?" Mirajane wondered, curious.

"Hm?" Karissa looked back at her at her question. Mirajane just made a motion with her hand that resembled the shape of a necklace on her chest. "Oh, that. No, I gave it to him hours ago." She said simply flatly after gulping.

Hearing this, the bartender made a little gasp and then leaned on the counter, grinning brightly. "Oh? What was the reason? Is there some secret meaning?"

"Hm, not really. It's not a secret to me that Gray is turning eighteen soon. So, I got him something for it." She reached for her neck and rubbed it sheepishly. "I literally just copied Loke when he got Van a wine glass."

"Really? That's it?" Mirajane gave her an unconvinced look.

"… I can't think of another reason why I would give it to him. Oh, wait," Karissa smiled a little. "He's my best friend so that's another reason I guess."

Placing a hand on her cheek, Mirajane sighed dramatically. "I don't know if I should be glad or sad about how you still have some degree of innocence."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You guys are so close, I think you'd make a cute couple." Mirajane suddenly said cheerfully with her hands clasped together.

"Haah?" Karissa slumped in disbelief.

"Nothing, nothing~" Mirajane sing-songed as she straightened up. Karissa lifted a brow and watched as she walked away to attend to someone else who sat down at the counter.

Ever since Lisanna passed away, Mirajane had become quite the soft person. She used to be this tough girl with great magical ability, a quality that allowed her to become an S-Class mage, but she just lost her strength and will to fight after the incident. She had become this caring and loving person within the guild, she became motherlier than Pandora.

Karissa gazed at her juice as she recalled the youngest Strauss within the sea of her memories. She really did miss that girl.

Her parents, Mister Silver and Miss Mika, Ur, Hilda and Lisanna. Each event reminded her painfully that life was such a precious thing. Once that person's life vanishes, she would never see them again no matter how much she longed for it. There was no second chance. At some point, she even began to fear death, something that made her quite uneasy a night.

She shook her head. Get those dark thoughts out of here.

Just then she remembered the article she read a few hours ago, she pouted as she stared at Mirajane who was busy making a cocktail.

I'll be sure to ask her if she told the magazine…

"Hey, Karissa."

She blinked when she felt someone settle into the seat next to hers. He had orange spikey hair and hazel eyes that were hidden behind a pair of tinted blue shades. His familiar dark green coat was a dead give away.

"Oh, hi. What are you doing here, Loke?"

Loke shrugged and twisted a little so that he was facing her, he put his arm on the counter and leaned on bit. "Got back from a job just now."

"No, I meant, what are you doing here."

Feigning offense, he put a hand on his chest. "What? I can't greet a fellow member of my guild?"

Karissa gave him a look. "Well considering how you like to slither your way into some girls' pants after a job—"

"You don't know that. Don't go making assumptions." He reached and flicked her nose. She scrunched it up in annoyance. This was the second time she had been flicked today.

Loke was the resident flirt of Fairy Tail. He had joined around the time she was sixteen. His friendly personality made it easy for him to get along with others around him. He flirted with just about any girl he saw, but he never really acted that way around Pandora and Karissa. According to him, Pandora seemed too motherly like Mirajane to the point where Loke actually felt bad of flirting with someone who resembled his mother. He also preferred to keep his head on his shoulders by not incurring Pandora's wrath if he tried flirting with Karissa.

Karissa could sympathize with that fear.

"How did your job go?" Karissa asked before sipping from her straw.

"It wasn't that hard. I was just collecting a bounty. After that, I ended up meeting a nice lady at the bar."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him with a frown. "Yeah, you could have kept that last part out. I didn't ask."

That evoked a laugh out of him. "Okay fine. How did yours go?" he asked her with a grin.

…

…

She grimaced.

"Alright," Loke straightened up in his seat. "Now I'm curious."

Karissa ran her hand across her face, pulling the skin under her eyes with her fingers, blowing out hot air.

Chapter Text

Karissa joined Gray and Cana at the counter with a yawn. They both looked at her funny when she drowsily got onto her seat and then proceeded to slouch with a dazed look.

"What's got you so sleepy?"

"I was reading this book that Levy gave me." She rubbed her eyes. "It was so good. But I had to force myself to stop reading it at around 3 AM…"

"Don't tell me you only woke up now? It's almost noon." Cana lowered her mug and raised a brow. Karissa just nodded and rubbed the sleep out of her face.

"Here, this'll definitely wake you up." Cana smirked and offered Karissa her mug full of alcohol. After catching a whiff of it, Karissa leaned away, her face looking like it was fully awake now. She grimaced and pushed it away with a finger. "Nah, keep it."

"Oh, come on, at least let me drink with my friend!" Cana complained.

Gray scoffed next to her. "Yeah, don't try. Karissa's dead set on not drinking alcohol."

"Seriously? Man, screw that. You need to drink this stuff. I swear, it'll open your eyes to the truth."

Karissa laughed at that. "The truth of what? That I could get drunk?"

Suddenly, the whole guild went up in an uproar, making the three jolt a little. Everyone was throwing things and tables were being destroyed. A rather typical scene for the Fairy Tail guild hall. Cana and Karissa heard Gray shout out angrily after getting shoved, making him jump out of his seat and join in on the fight in nothing but his underwear. The two girls sweat dropped. Karissa sighed and hopped off the stool, deciding it was best to go take cover somewhere since she was too tired to deal with the ruckus. As she walked closer to the request board, she was smacked in the face by a hand, it felt way to painful just for a measly hand.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Karissa groaned. She found a familiar face looking back at her. Oh yeah, she knew this person. She disliked them. She was the resident princess of the dorm back when she still lived there. There was even once a time where she physically got into a fight with her for some petty thing.

"Damn it, Kleenex! How many goddamn rings do you need to wear?!" Karissa smacked her hand way from her face with immense irritation.

"It's KLEENA. And—" Kleena paused. She brought her hand to her face and looked at her nails. "Oh my god, you broke it!" she shrieked.

"Well watch where you swing that frigging hand—" she dodged a flying cup. "Watch it, you spoiled brat!" Karissa growled before picking up a broken piece of wood that belonged to a table. "I'm too tired to deal with your shit!"

Cana sighed heavily as she watch Karissa violently pitch the wood at Kleena. "You don't look that tired."

Karissa got too absorbed into her fight that she didn't even notice the Master of her guild step into the middle of the guildhall in his giant form, making everyone freeze as he told them to stop fighting like children. Karissa's wind magic ceased just as she grabbed Kleena by the front of her shirt. The two girls were looking at each other without saying anything.

"Oh, you were here, Master?" Mirajane smiled.

"Yes."

"Master?!" Karissa heard an unfamiliar voice repeat in bafflement.

After a pause. Everyone who was fighting someone turned away from each other, ceasing their fighting like they were asked to. Karissa glanced behind her when she heard Natsu laughing victoriously only to get stomped on by the Master.

When did he get back?

"Hm? A new recruit?" Master Makarov peered down at the girl standing in front of him. It was a blonde haired girl.

"Y-Yes…?!"

The black haired girl glanced behind her and found a chair in perfect condition. She took a seat as she Master went back to his original form and introduced himself to the young woman before leaping up to the rail on the second floor. If he was up there, that meant he most likely had something to say to everyone. Perhaps it was a scolding from all the mess they made.

"You've done it again, you bunch of fools!" He brought out some papers from behind his back with an unhappy look on his face. "Look at all this paperwork the Council sent me!"

Karissa looked down to hide her face from the master as she cringed. The paperwork he received was usually a pile of complaints that people had written to the Council about the mages who caused trouble. In her family, only two people were subjected to these complaints: Karissa and Van. Van was due to his temper tantrums that caused the earth to literally shatter beneath his feet while Karissa was due to being careless in her fights, causing destruction of property every now and then.

Master Makarov cleared his throat as he brought the papers in front of him. "First is Gray."

"Huh?" Gray looked up with narrowed eyes.

"Good job on sweeping out the smuggling organization, but you walked around naked in town afterwards and ran away after stealing underwear that was being dried."

Karissa couldn't help but laugh at that. The mental image of Gray sneaking around a neighborhood butt naked. It was so scandalous.

"Second, Karissa!"

Upon hearing her name, she instantly stopped laughing and looked up sheepishly. She found Master Makarov giving her a look. "You successfully stopped a cult and saved a town, but you ended up destroying the windows of all the houses in four different streets during an aerial battle, and then gave the damage cost to another guild that was located nearby."

"… Well, I panicked… I didn't know what to do." Karissa muttered.

"Elfman! You had a mission to escort a VIP, but you assaulted him during the mission. Cana Alberona. Drinking fifteen big barrels of alcohol, and charging it to the magic Council. Loke. Flirting with Council member elder Reiji's grand-daughter. A certain talent agency charged us for damage compensation, too. Van Sinclost. You broke the earth and caused the fall of an old bridge in the north." Then Master Makarov slumped. "And Natsu… You destroyed the Devon Thief Family, but also destroyed seven other houses that belong to the townspeople… levelling a historical clock tower in Tully Village, burning down a church in Freesia, damaging parts of Lupinus Castle, making Nazuna Ravine observatory collapse and thus caused the cease of its operations. And as of yesterday night, destroying half of Hargeon's port…."

Dang Natsu. Karissa looked at him as he laid on the floor looking a bit embarrassed for being called out like that.

"Alzack, Levi, Reedus, Warren, Bisca… the list goes on. You guys…! The Council members are angry with me all the time because of you fools!" there was a pause of silence as they watched him tremble. "However, I say the heck with the Council!" Makarov lit the paperwork on fire and tossed it aside without a care. Natsu quickly ran over to jump up and grab his flaming snack before it hit the floor.

"Listen here, magic is an unreasonable power, but it is born from reason! It is not some miraculous ability. It is the combination of the spirit that flows within us with the spirit that flows within nature itself, incarnated into a physical form! It takes a strong mind and focus! In fact, magic is the pouring out of one's entire soul. One cannot progress in the way of magic by being mindful of the watchful eye from above! Be not afraid of those fools on the Council! And follow the path you believe in! That's what it means the be a Fairy Tail wizard!"

…

…

…

After cleaning up the guild and pulling out some new tables from out of nowhere, Karissa was about to sit down with Cana again until she felt a flash on her. She flinched and looked at the person with a startled look. She found Max holding up a camera with a grin on his face.

"… Max."

"Finally gotcha."

"Delete that!" she freaked with her hands on her face. Max could see her ears turning red from the embarrassment.

"Oh come on," He stepped away when she tried grabbing the camera from his hands. "It's one of the best ones I got. The others are all blurry from all the times you bolted away. Look," showed her the screen. "The one I took just now has you smiling."

"I look weird." She said flatly.

Max nudged her side with his elbow. "That's not true. Oh hey, by the way, do you mind helping me with my Fairy Tail Souvenir Shop again?"

Karissa didn't have to think about it too much to agree. His little project was very interesting. She was brought into this two-man project since she was the perfect person for coming up with ideas for the shop since she was creative. One of his ideas was to sell some pictures of the members hence the reason for taking her picture earlier. He had asked for her help a few weeks ago, and so far, things have been rolling very smoothly. The last time they spoke about the project, Master Makarov had greenlighted the project.

Max Alors joined the guild around the time she was fifteen, and he quickly got along with many members of the guild due to his outgoing personality. It seemed like her very much enjoyed talking to the people around him as long as they were just as nice. For that reason, he usually approached her when she was in her corner minding her own business, too timid to join others. He was not too forceful with her either, so that made it easier to get along with him.

They were on their way to some warehouse that they rented for their current products while the store was still being developed.

"By the way, how's your nervousness lately?" Max asked curiously as she walked next to him.

Karissa looked up as she recollected the memories of her previous job. "… I think, it's slowly getting better? I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"My skin didn't feel too prickly, I didn't feel overheated from overthinking in front of the client when I'm usually supposed to…"

"Hey! That's great!" Max slapped her back, making her stumble with a baffled look. "Wh-What?"

"If it didn't happen, then that means you're slowly getting used to it." Max explained with a smile. "Aren't you glad?"

"I don't know… I'm so used to it that I'm worried about not having it. Maybe my brain was getting tired of always being on high alert for the past 5-6 years. It also makes me realize how much I missed by being in my corner all the time. It's kind of sad."

Max put his hands in his pockets and nodded. "I get that feeling. I didn't really have many friends growing up so I feel like I missed a crucial piece of my childhood."

"You didn't have friends?"

"Nope." Max laughed a little before shrugging. "But there's no point in wallowing on the past. I told myself to try and make some friends when I joined a guild, and I did. I have so many friends today so that sort of makes up for it."

Karissa felt like squinting. "You're… optimistic."

The beige haired man just snorted. "Yeah, well, you're pessimistic."

"I know."

A few days later, Karissa and Van arrived at the guild just in time to see Erza calling out people. The first thing they noticed was the very noticeable horn standing in the middle of the guild hall.

"Van." Erza's voice echoed in the guildhall, making the said man stop in his tracks with a puzzled face.

"Me? I just got here." Van held his hands up to his shoulders.

"You need to control your temper."

"Ah, so you heard." Van scratched the back of his head.

The scarlet haired woman shifted her attention on the youngest Sinclost and told her to come over as she had something to ask her, Gray and Natsu for a favor. Without needing to be told twice, Karissa jogged over to Erza and found Gray and Natsu looking amicable with strained smiles. They were clearly faking it to avoid getting yelled or punished by the older woman.

"I heard something disturbing after having finished my job. Normally, I'd ask for the Master's opinion, but we must act quickly so I decided myself. I want you three to help me. Will you help me?"

While Natsu and Gray looked hesitant of the idea of working with the other, Karissa didn't have any problem lending a hand.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait for Pandora to get back? She'd be back in a few days… She's an S-Class wizard like you. I'm sure she'd be even more helpful than me." Karissa put her hands in her jacket's pockets.

"You may have a point. But as I've said, this is a case where acting fast is necessary. I cannot afford to wait for Pandora to return when time is short." Erza explained. "Besides, you sell yourself short, you have your own skills that I deemed necessary for this."

"… If you say so."

"We're leaving tomorrow, so be ready."

THE NEXT DAY: MAGNOLIA STATION

…

…

…

Karissa, who had her hands in her pockets, glanced at Gray as he held a grumpy look on his face with his arms crossed over his chest. She arrived at the station earlier than anyone and was joined by Gray who couldn't seem to lighten up at the fact that Natsu was coming along. It made Karissa roll her eyes and nudge him on the side, he stumbled from the force.

"What was that for?"

"Suck it up." She told him simply. "You're going on mission with Natsu. Big deal."

"Tch, yeah for you. I can't stand the guy!"

"And he can't stand you either. Okay. You're telling me that's going to keep you grumpy during the whole ride? Just ignore him!"

Gray didn't respond to that. He just turned his head away and stared ahead without saying anything. Her words seemed to have made him relax a little until they heard Happy cheerfully calling their names. The next second, Gray went back to looking grumpy, causing Karissa to sigh in defeat. As soon as the two guys faced each other, they began glaring at the other with disgust.

"Why do I have to team up with you?! Natsu slammed his forehead against Gray's.

"That's my line! If Erza wants help, Karissa and I alone are enough!" he pushed back against Natsu.

"Then why don't you guys go by yourselves?! I don't want to go!"

"Then don't come, then I'll get to watch Erza kill you!"

With look of apathy on her face, Karissa just decided to shut out the two and keep an eye out for Erza after setting her headphones on her head. Back when they were kids, she tried playing the mediator for them just like she did for Lyon and Gray. Unfortunately, their fighting was much worse and way too troublesome to handle, making her give up on them entirely.

When Erza's huge luggage was spotted, Karissa raised a hand and waved at her. Erza gave her brief wave of greeting as she came closer, causing the two to cease their fighting. They boarded a train a few minutes later but not without Natsu asking for a match with Erza when they return to Fairy Tail.

Karissa chose to sit between Natsu and Gray with Happy on her lap instead of sitting between Erza and the new recruit whose name she learned was Lucy. Karissa was scooted a bit closer to Gray as Natsu seriously looked sick, she was scared of him barfing on her and having to deal with puke. Why did transportation have to be the simple-minded idiot's weakness?

"Seriously, you're really pathetic. One minute you're picking a fight and the next you're like this." Gray said next to the window, staring outside.

"It's gotta be tough on him, getting from place to place." Lucy said.

Erza heaved a sigh with her arms crossed. "It can't be helped. Come to my side."

Lucy got up and helped Natsu get up and sit next to Erza since Karissa and Gray weren't going to do it. Once the celestial wizard took a seat next to Karissa, the three wizards watched as Erza placed an arm around Natsu's shoulders in a comforting manner, telling him to relax. The next second, she rammed her fist in his stomach, knocking him out cold on her lap.

My god. Karissa sweat dropped as she averted her eyes away.

"U-Um," Lucy laughed uneasily. "So, what kind of magic do you use, Erza-san? I haven't seen any other magic than Natsu's in Fairy Tail."

"You can call me Erza." The scarlet haired woman smiled amicably.

Happy lifted his arms up, "Erza's magic is beautiful. He opponents' blood squirts out everywhere!"

"That's beautiful?"

Erza chuckled lowly. "Personally, I think Gray and Karissa's magic is much more beautiful than mine."

"I guess." Karissa shrugged.

"Really?" Gray put his arms forward as he put his hand in his palm, creating a light chill around them as the ice began to form, revealing a small Fairy Tail insignia. The little piece of ice flew past Karissa and float in front of Lucy for a few seconds.

The blonde haired mage clapped her hands in realization. "Oh! So, that's why you and Natsu don't get along? Because Natsu uses fire and you use ice!"

Happy looked at Lucy with a straight face. "Wow, Lucy you must be dumb to believe in stuff like that."

"What did you just call me?!"

"If that was true, then Karissa would be like Gray when it comes to Natsu. She gets along with Natsu." Happy patted Karissa's thigh with his paw. Lucy blinked. Karissa slowly looked at Lucy as she felt her curious gaze on her.

"Do you use ice magic too?"

"Yeah. Wind magic too."

"Oh wow! Two types of magic?!"

Karissa could only stare at the girl in the eyes for about two more seconds before her gaze skittered away. The female ice wizard lifted the back of her hand to hide her mouth behind her sleeve in a somewhat natural manner. "Yeah…"

Lucy's eyebrows rose a little, she's shy.

On the outside, she maintained a straight faced without a hint of a smile. On the inside, however, she was hoping that Lucy would stop talking and go back to talking to Erza since she didn't know if she could keep up a conversation with someone she just met.

Soon after, Erza got straight to the point. When she stopped by a pub on her way home, she overheard something. A group was plotting something with the help of something referred to as 'Lullaby'. According to them, they were unable to use it as it had a seal on it. But a certain member in the group said he would return to Erigor after three days with Lullaby, possibly after breaking the seal.

"The name Erigor." Erza's eyes narrowed. "The dark guild Eisenwald's ace. He's called Shinigami because he only accepts assassination requests."

Karissa grimaced at that. "Disgusting."

"Obviously, assassinations have been forbidden by the Council but Eisenwald prioritized money. Six years ago, they were banished from the Mage Guild League and is now categorized as a dark guild." With a frustrated face, she slammed her fist on Natsu's hand in her lap. "If only I had paid more attention to the name Erigor back then, I would've punished them all until they would've revealed their plan."

"I see." Gray looked away from the window. "Eisenwald intends to do something with this Lullaby. And since it's probably something bad, you want us to help you stop them."

"Exactly."

Karissa crossed her legs and huffed. "Knowing how they prefer assassinations jobs for money, the entire guild might as well be plotting to do something to the people who forbid them to do it in the first place with that Lullaby thing. I wouldn't be surprised if that was their plan."

"A possible hypothesis, and your guesses and hunches are usually correct." Erza agreed. "And that's why I asked for your help. I don't think I could go up against an entire guild myself."

"Sounds interesting." Gray smirked.

"I hope it'll be a challenge at least." Karissa chuckled.

"Aye!"

"… I shouldn't have come." Lucy whimpered, terrified.

They arrived at Onibas station, the town where Erza overheard the members of Eisenwald, and started making their way through the town. They group allowed Erza to lead the way as the official team leader of this mission.

Karissa put on her headphones again but kept one ear open so she could pay attention to any other details Erza was willing to give them.

"And? Do you know where Eisenwald is?" Gray asked, looking around.

"We came to this town to find out about that." Erza replied while dragging her luggage.

"Why don't we try the pub and ask the owner if he overheard anything?" Karissa suggested.

All of a sudden, they heard Lucy make a panicked sound. Everyone stopped and looked at her curiously. "Natsu's not here!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed while looking back, seeing no sign of Natsu.

Happy, Erza, Gray and Karissa didn't move a muscle as they stared at Lucy.

…

…

…

"Ah." Karissa finally said. "We left him on the train."

"Pretty much." Gray groaned as he ran his hand over his face.

They quickly rushed over to the train station after Erza had her moment of self-blame. She wasted no second in finding a staff member, demanding that they stop the train immediately, the three wizards could only sit back and watch Erza do things her way.

"M…Miss, I can't stop the train just because you asked me to…!"

"It's for our friend. Please understand."

"We can't! Just for one person?!"

Karissa looked around the place to try and find the emergency lever to speed things along. There was no point in asking Erza to change method since it was obviously the quickest way to get Natsu some help. And the quicker they stop the train, the shorter the route to Natsu will be after all. Somewhere behind the staff member was a couple of levers, one of them was labeled for emergencies only.

The emergency is to avoid walking or running all the way to Natsu.

"Happy." Karissa called the blue cat.

"What is it?" he flew up next to her when she motioned him to fly up.

"Just go pull down the lever over there." She pointed her finger at the target. "It's pretty high up."

The blue cat snickered. "Aye, sir!"

As Happy flew past the staff member, who cried out for him to stop, Erza praised him for doing the right thing just as he lowered the lever down, causing a bell to echo throughout the entire station. People in the station looked around in complete confusion, wondering if there was some sort of accident that occurred.

"Now, then, let's go after Natsu." Erza announced as she walked away from the staff member who was in disbelief by the disruption in schedule she just caused. "Oh, and please deliver my luggage to Hotel Chili. Thank you."

"W...What?"

The others chose to keep their belongings with them instead of dumping it on some random person.

With the trains in complete halt, they needed to take another form of transportation to catch up with Natsu. Erza had decided to borrow a magic vehicle from someone nearby. Karissa's mistake, for the owner of the magic vehicle, was pointing at one that was about to be used by someone. Lucy watched in disbelief as Erza 'politely' borrowed the magic vehicle, which involved literally pulling the man off the seat so that she may sit there instead. Lucy had tried suggesting that they simply rent a magic vehicle instead of stealing one but didn't have the courage to once Erza had taken action. Gray had tossed his bag to Karissa as he climbed on the roof of the magic vehicle, saying it would be quicker for them to get moving while the rest just got comfortable inside.

Karissa sat in the spot across from Lucy and Happy, she was facing the same way as Erza. She crossed her legs and her arms over her chest, simply watching the view outside as they raced out of Onibas.

They were traveling fast. They needed to find Natsu before the train began moving again. The two girls inside the vehicle were keeping an eye on the train that had yet to move.

After a few minutes, they spotted a section of the train that had been destroyed. Lucy and Karissa already had an inclination of Natsu being responsible for the destruction. When Erza brought them closer to the train, they heard it make a whistling noise.

The train started chugging.

"Oh no! The train!" Lucy leaned closer to the window.

"Whoa…!" Karissa gasped as she saw something break out from the train, flying out their way. "It's Natsu."

The pink haired wizard flew out sideways while Erza kept driving the vehicle towards him. The two girls in the vehicle watched Natsu disappear above them, and they heard Gray and Natsu cry out in pain. The two girls cringed for the both of them, Karissa whipped her head back to look out the window behind her. Gray and Natsu rolled on the ground from falling and until they finally stopped and laid on their backs.

"Erza! Stop!" Karissa shouted with her hand on the door handle.

Erza slammed her foot on the breaks and turned the vehicle, making it swerve to the side next to a fence. "Natsu, are you alright?" Erza asked as she removed the SE plug strap around her wrist.

"Aye…!" The fire wizard replied in pain.

Karissa was already on her way to check on them after she slammed the door open. "What about you Gray?" she crouched down next to him, watching as his face was twisted in pain, his forehead was supporting a red mark.

"I feel like I got hit by a rock… fuck." Gray groaned as he gently put a hand on his forehead.

Karissa helped him get up while Lucy did the same for Natsu. The two were able to gather their bearings rather quickly as they went straight to glaring at each other.

"That hurt, you dumbass!" Gray shouted at him.

"Shut up! How dare you guys leave me behind!" Natsu shouted back. He looked at them accusingly.

"You were so quiet." Karissa shrugged with her hands.

"I'm just happy that you're safe." Erza said with relief, bringing him towards her for a comforting hug which he only groaned about as he had his head slammed into her armor.

Natsu pulled away and rubbed his head. "What do you mean 'safe'?! I had a fight against some strange guy on the train! He claimed to be part of Eisenwald." Natsu said with his arms crossed, frowning as he remembered the encounter, only to be slapped in the face by the oldest member in the group.

"You fool! Eisenwald is who we're after! How could you let him get away?!"

Gray, Karissa and Lucy gaped at the scene before them. Erza stood in front of Natsu as he looked up at her like a child.

"Wha…?! This is the first time I heart about it…" Natsu said, clearly lost as he held his red cheek.

"I explained it earlier! Listen to people when they're talking!"

Karissa sighed as she scratched the back of her neck. "Um, Erza. Natsu's not at fault here you know? Don't you remember that—" The scarlet haired woman turned to face her with an irritated expression.

The black haired girl paused. "… You know what? Never mind." Karissa turned away, leaving Natsu to fend for himself.

"Yeah, just leave it alone." Gray looked away from the two, pretending not see.

It was decided. They were going to go after the train that the Eisenwald member was currently on.

Natsu had described his assailant as plain looking guy who carried a particular flute in his bag. An odd flute that had a skull with three eyes. The description of the flute had caused Lucy to realize what kind of flute the dark guild member was carrying. As its name suggests, it was a tool that played a song. Not just any song, but a cursed one, a melody of death. It was Death Magic. According to Lucy, the flute was simply used as a tool for deadly curses. But after falling into the hands of the dark wizard Zeref, it turned into a demon flute that was capable of killing anyone that heard the melody.

In other words, a very dangerous tool.

"If that's the case, then we really need to chase after them." Erza strapped the SE plug back on her arm and glanced at her fellow guild mates. "Get on, we're leaving right now." She said urgently as she got into her seat.

"R-Right!" Lucy obeyed her, knowing how dire the situation was. She hopped back inside the vehicle with Happy while Gray just climbed back on top, leaving Karissa and Natsu who still hadn't climbed inside yet due to how slow the pink haired mage was being.

"No… Not again." Natsu moaned as he slowly stepped into the vehicle.

"Damn it, Natsu! Get your ass in there already—! Wait Erza! MOVE IT NATSU!" Karissa yelled, not wanting to be left behind the moment Erza took off.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand latch on her wrist followed by a forceful tug upwards, making her shriek. Gray had pulled her on top of the magic vehicle.

"G-Gray?!"

"I told you: it's faster."

"But what if—OOF!" Karissa's words died as Erza sped off after the train, nearly making her fall off the roof if it hadn't been for Gray holding on to her tightly.

"You idiot, hold on here!" He grabbed her hands and put them on some type of ledge on the roof. Karissa didn't need to be told twice since she gripped onto it like her life depended on it.

"Y-Yeah okay...!"

She froze her wrists on the roof for safety measure.

I can't believe I'm riding up here. I'm going to die!

At some point, Erza decided to take a shortcut by literally flying off the edge of a short cliff.

"HOLY FU—!" Karissa freaked as she saw how high they were. She closed her eyes tightly.

No four wheeled-vehicle should be up the air like that!

Gray put an arm around her, just in case, to keep her from falling off. The two ice mages held on for dear life as the vehicle bounced off the ground for a moment, jolting them.

"E-Erza! Slow down a little!" Karissa said shakily. "You're going to send us flying off!"

Gray removed his arm off her and so he could properly hold onto the ledge. "Even if it's you, don't underestimate the amount of magic this vehicle drains!" he warned her.

Karissa forced herself to move closer to the edge to get near Erza so that she could speak to her. "Why don't I take care of it?! I have a lot of magic power to use! Switch with me!" She held her arm out near her head.

"We don't have time to waste! If Erigor seizes this magic flute then there's no telling what he'll do!" Erza told her. "Just hold onto the ledge for now."

"Yeah but…" Karissa trailed off, not sure what to say to change her mind. Her magic power was definitely something they could to their advantage when it came to magical items or vehicles that drained magic power. If she had so much to spare, she'd be glad to spend it on something little like this.

She drew back her arm in disappointment.

"Karissa," Erza addressed loudly, the girl blinked. "You may be right about their goal now that we know that we're dealing with a flute that takes lives. Who do you think their target might be? Do you have any guesses?"

Karissa bit her lip. She glanced at Gray who was looking at her curiously. She lowered her gaze and looked at her hands.

…

…

"Knowing how they prefer assassinations jobs for money, the entire guild might as well be plotting to do something to the people who forbid them to do it in the first place with that Lullaby thing. I wouldn't be surprised if that was their plan."

…

…

If I continue with that theory… then there's only one thing that comes to mind.

"I could be wrong, but, it's possible that they might go after the Council."

"The Council?" Erza repeated, a bit surprised.

"That's what I think they would do. You said that they prioritize money and that they specialized assassination jobs. The Magic Council forbids assassination jobs, and they have treated them as a criminal organization because of their preference. If I were in their shoes, I would use it on the Magic Council since they wouldn't be preventing me from doing what I want once they're dead. You get it?"

"Yes, I understand. So, you're saying that their target would be those who hold authority, correct?"

Karissa nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Something like that! Don't rely on it too much though."

"It's better than nothing." Gray spoke. "We have no lead right now. The best thing we could do for now is guess their motive."

"But I just can't figure out why they would need to stop the trains..." Karissa deeply frowned as they kept pressing forward.

A flute that takes lives, huh?

How dreadful.

They had temporarily stopped by Kunugi Station to overhear the commotion. The train was taken over the moment the train stopped there, they were claiming that it was a dark guild. The Fairy Tail members already knew that the name of that guild was Eisenwald. With that information in mind, they sped off to the town of Oshibana.

…

…

…

They scared a bunch of people who were minding their own business when they sped off into Oshibana, their destination was the station in town.

Erza took a quick turn around the corner, causing Gray and Karissa to tilt with a yelp. "Again...?!" The female ice wizard said with a tremble in her voice.

The people town made way for the speeding magic vehicle with shouts and screams.

"Erza, you're going too fast! You're inflating SE plug!" Gray shouted at Erza in concern.

"If we let them play the Lullaby flute, a great number of innocent people will be victims! Just by hearing the sound, a person's life is stolen from them!"

"Yeah, we get it, we want to stop them too! But you're going to be empty by the time we catch up! That's why I told you that we should have switched!" Karissa looked down at her from behind, really concerned about Erza's state.

"If that happens then I'll fight with a stick if I have to! And you three are here as well." Erza said confidently, not too worried about herself.

Karissa's right eye twitched in slight annoyance for her lack of care. "I swear, the next time we use this, I'm the one getting drained, alright?!"

Erza only chuckled in slight amusement, appreciating the younger girl's concern. "Alright, fine."

When they arrived in front of the station, they found a crowd and some staff members that were trying to calm them down. They had make their way through the crowd of people. To make her job easier, she grabbed onto Gray's sleeve as they made their way through. When they made it to the front, she released him and just watched Erza demand to know the situation.

"You! What's the situation inside?" Erza asked a staff member as she grabbed his shoulder.

"Who the heck are you—" he was cut off by Erza headbutting him, resulting in him folding on the floor.

She moved on to the next person. "What's going on inside?"

"Eh— GUAH!"

Before the poor man could actually reply, she immediately slammed her head into his. It made Karissa stare at the poor men who were just doing their job. They weren't paid to face a woman like Erza.

At least let them breathe a syllable...

"You know... I'm starting to think Karissa is the only normal one here." Lucy sighed while supporting Natsu who had yet to recover from his motion sickness.

After she was done 'questioning', she returned to her comrades.

"The Eisenwald guild's inside. Let's go!"

Karissa gave the staff members one last sympathetic look before running inside with the others.

Chapter Text

Minutes before they arrived at Oshibana, a small army unit had been dispatched inside to take care of the problem but had yet to return. On their way inside, they had a good idea of what happened to them once they found them unconscious on the floor with all their armor and weapons broken. They stood no chance. Thankfully, it didn't look like they suffered much damage enough to seek medical help, they were grateful for that at least.

As soon as they marched up the stairs and appeared in front of Eisenwald, someone began to laugh mockingly at their arrival. The entire guild of Eisenwald stood before them.

"I knew you'd come. You Fairy Tail flies." The man with the scythe on his back said. The dominating presence this person had compared to the rest of them made it easy enough to guess that he was the ace of the dark guild: Erigor. He sat atop this train that they hijacked from Kunugi Station with his guildmates standing below.

Erza stepped in front of them and looked straight at him. "What is your goal? What do you plan to do with Lullaby?" she demanded to know with power in her voice. "Are you planning on using that demonic flute on the Magic Council?"

Erigor inclined his head and smirked at her guess. The man lowered shook his head and laughed, flying off the train. "The Magic Council?" he repeated. "No, it's too early for that."

Karissa narrowed her eyes.

He's using wind magic.

If it wasn't the Magic Council they were currently after, then what would he be planning to do now? The Fairy Tail members watched him carefully as he flew closer to them. "What's here at the train station?" Erigor flew around until he stood atop of the pole that had four speakers attached to it.

The black haired girl clenched her fists, he wants to broadcast it through the station's speakers?!

"You plan on broadcasting the Lullaby?!" Erza glared at him.

The silvered haired mage reached for his scythe and took it out, it made the light guild mages ready themselves. He lowered his scythe towards the speakers and knocked his blade against the metal. "I wonder how many thousands of onlookers are gathered around here? And if you increase the volume, it'll reverberate through the—"

Karissa's fingers twitched.

What an asshole.

She was familiar with loss.

The pain.

Lucy eeped in surprise when a gust of wind blew her skirt and lifted it up. She flinched and shut her eyes for a second and kept her hair in place. When she opened her eyes, she realized that Karissa had disappeared from her position in front her. Instead, she was also flying in the air and she had an ice sword pressed against Erigor's scythe.

"Oi! Karissa!" Gray called her name for acting so suddenly.

"Don't be reckless!" Erza warned her.

From small breeze blowing around them, Karissa's hair swished lightly behind as she glared darkly at the man before her. Not even the slightest intimidated by her attack and face, Erigor merely lightly pushed against her sword as a way of mocking her futile attempt to attack him.

"Oh? A fellow wind user?"

"You want to broadcast it and kill all the people here? Then we'll just destroy all the damn speakers here." She declared before casting a wind spell that thoroughly destroyed the speakers beneath Erigor, causing him to fly away from her. She had tried slashing him when he moved, but she missed. He stared at the broken pieces on the floor for a moment before bringing his attention back on her.

"You fool. A station as big as this has more speakers hidden around, you won't be able to get to all of them."

Karissa darted at him and slammed her ice sword on his scythe once more."And you want to get your rights back as a guild when you deservingly lost it?" she shot back mockingly with a smirk on her, leaning her face a bit closer as she snickered. "You look like a bunch of children wailing and asking for attention in all the wrong ways. Your rights will never be returned like that."

Karissa sensed that her words hit a nerve since his face twitched. Erigor growled in annoyance before pushing her back with force. Karissa caught herself with her wind and kept herself upright.

"You're testing my patience, you fly." Erigor appeared in front of her in a gust of wind and aimed a kick at her. Her arms shot up and blocked his hit that sent her flying to the ground. She landed on her feet with a stumble.

As Karissa dropped back in front of Lucy, the blonde haired girl could only silently stare at her like as if she grew another head. The shy girl that she saw on the train and during the ride to fetch Natsu was gone. Now, there was different person standing there.

So far, Lucy had noticed that every Fairy Tail she met so far had something peculiar about them. Prior to entering the station, she figured that Karissa was the normal one. But now...

Was she actually two-faced or something?

"Tch, that fucker." Karissa cussed darkly, frightening Lucy.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Now that we've come this far, we don't want rights anymore. It's power! Those with power can wipe the past clean, and can rule the future."

Suddenly a man from Eisenwald crouched down and slammed his hand on the floor. "Too bad for you, flies!" He gave them a twisted grin. "You won't get to see the new dark age because you're going to the afterlife!" From his position, he emitted magic power that summoned up shadows that raced across the floor.

Karissa and Gray readied themselves as they watched the shadows approach them, but they were taken back when the shadows moved past them.

Erza whipped around. "Lucy!"

The shadows shot up menacingly before Lucy, making her freak but were easily destroyed by fire after Natsu got back up on his feet, now recovered from his motion sickness.

The man looked surprised, "You?!"

"I knew I recognized that voice." Natsu grinned while cracking his knuckles.

"The guy from the train?" Karissa glanced at her friend.

"Yeah, and I need to get some payback."

Just as Natsu said that, Erigor vanished before their eyes. Without delay, Erza asked both Natsu and Gray to chase after Erigor which they did after being told twice. Karissa watched them leave a cloud of smoke behind as they fearfully dashed away.

"They're going after Erigor!"

"Leave it to me!" said a member with a hat that reminded Karissa of a bee. He had these wires attached to his fingers that he used to latch on the railing on the higher floor, pulling himself up. The one controlling the shadows earlier decided to assist him in hopes of beating up Natsu for what he did to him. He left in a puddle of shadows.

"After we clean up these guys, we're heading after them, too." Erza observed the rest of the guild that stayed behind after she ordered Gray and Natsu, in a scary way, to chase after them.

"Three girls against this many!?" Lucy panicked as she slowly took some steps back.

A couple of members of the dark guild began mocking them, laughing as they did so.

"We're gonna pluck off your wings, fly-babies— EH?!" The man with whiskers on his face was suddenly pulled towards them.

Karissa, who had pulled him towards her with her wind magic, lunged forward with her arm reeled back. As soon as his face got closer to her, she threw down her fist and punched him into the ground. With the force she had that was enhanced by her wind magic, she made him dent the flooring, knocking him out. The Eisenwald said nothing as Karissa straightened up without a sound.

She stomped her foot on the member's body. "Enough talk."

Taking that as the cue, Erza summoned her usual sword into her hand. "And if you try insulting our guild in front of our presence again, I won't guarantee that you'll see tomorrow."

"You talk big but you're nothing but girls!" They shouted before charging towards them.

"Ice Make: Frigid Thorns!" Karissa swung her arm downwards and touched the floor after doing her stance, spawning three large spikes in line in front of her, injuring several of the guildsmen before her.

Erza was already cutting down more than she did in a single attack. She didn't expect anything less.

"Damn you!" a member appeared behind her and tried swinging a club behind her head. Her eyes went wide for a second before she ducked, missing the attack by a hair. She moved closer to the ground to place her hands on the floor. Then she pushed herself back with her hands to kick the guy square in the face, sending him flying upwards with a muffled cry of pain.

In the moment in which she was still recovering from that kick, other Eisenwald members darted towards her with their own attacks ready. Karissa brought her arms to her chest in a hugging manner before extending them rapidly. "Howling Gust!" sharp wind surrounded her body a dealt damage to those around her before expanding and sending them flying away from her from the shockwave.

Karissa landed on one knee and stared at her opponents like a cat watching its prey carefully.

"Next." Karissa straightened up her fist in her palm. "Ice Make—" she stopped and blinked owlishly when she felt something moved past her. The Eisenwald members she was planning on taking down where suddenly without weapons and their hair was gone, they looked bald. Curiously, she looked behind her and saw a man that came from out of nowhere. He reminded her of a crab.

"Impressive." Erza complemented.

Lucy looked back with a hand behind her head, she looked pleased by getting complimented by such a powerful woman. "Oh! Thanks! But it was no big deal!"

Karissa frowned. "What is he?"

"It's a celestial spirit of mine."

"Next time, say something. I could have frozen him or something." Karissa looked at her apathetically.

"S-Sorry!" Lucy stepped back, not quite sure how to take her words.

The black haired girl kept focusing on the fight instead of helping Erza and Lucy. The reason for that is because she was seeing how much progress she was doing with her batch of Eisenwald freaks. The faster she dealt with them the faster they'd be able to catch up to Erigor.

If I get my hands on that flute… I'm stepping on it!

Karissa sidestepped away from a bunch and then grabbed the person's arm. They yelped as she proceeded to throw him into the train in a rather violent manner. He didn't move after that.

The problem is that there's still so many of them left.

"Ice Make: Ten Blades!"

She used the improved spell she created at the age of eight. They were shaped like Dauphine hour watch hands. They levitated around her slowly before picking up the pace and swirling around her threateningly, challenging anyone to step forward. Like as if she was a conductor, they moved according to her hand and arm movements, hunting and chasing down those who continued to stand and oppose her.

It's taking too long.

Karissa stopped her attacks when she felt a bright light shine behind her. She caught a glimpse of Erza in her Heaven's Wheel Armor rising in the air with her swords circling around her. Karissa shattered her blades and leaped away with her wind to carry her far away from the dark guild members, she didn't feel like getting hit by Erza's swords today.

"Circle Sword!" Erza along with her swords came swooping down to deal a devastating blow on them, wiping them all out.

"I'll take you on!" the man that Karissa had pummeled first was somehow conscious again as he was charging at Erza after being one of the two people left standing. Easily, Erza took him down with a single strike after finding an opening.

Karissa landed back on the ground and stared at the larger member who just seem to be trembling. He gaped at them and took a step back.

"Ice Make—"

"Forget this! I'm out of here!"

Karissa dropped her hands in disbelief. "Wha…! HEY! ... What a coward."

"He might be heading towards Erigor." Erza guessed after returning to her regular outfit. Karissa made a survey around the platform to make sure no one was faking their defeat so that they could escape while they weren't looking while Erza asked Lucy, in a rather intimidating way, to go after the one who ran, leaving Erza and Karissa alone together since Happy accompanied her.

Karissa glanced at Erza when she heard her armor move. She found her going down on one knee and lowering her head, she seemed a bit drained. The black haired girl frowned at the sight.

"Hey, Erza. You going to be okay?" she went over to her side.

"Yes, I'll be fine after catching my breath." Erza heaved out a breath. "Don't worry."

Karissa sighed and put her hands on her hips. "I swear, next time, you're letting me get drained. Okay?! At least make use of me when I'm useful!"

Karissa and Erza had a relatively good bond. When Karissa first met Erza, she was a bit socially awkward since she always stayed in her corner. Whenever she tried to talk to her with Cana, she would get ignored. But somehow that didn't deter her younger self from trying to talk to her. When Erza finally began to open up, she was able to talk with her more amicably, allowing the scarlet haired girl to feel at ease.

Then when Karissa became more reclusive, Erza took it upon herself talk to her and encourage her to come out of her corner whenever she noticed.

Karissa felt somewhat grateful since she had lost courage to do such simple things.

"You're not a magic tool ready to be used, Karissa. You're my friend." Erza straightened up, feeling a bit better. "If I can handle it, I won't burden you with the task."

Karissa crossed her arms and inclined her head a little with a frown. "It's not a burden…" she mumbled as her gaze skittered away after hearing Erza's honesty.

The taller woman smiled at her bashful state.

"A…Anyway, I'll go outside and tell the people to get away from here." she ran off to the exit. "You just take it easy for now!" Karissa told her before running faster.

There was no time to waste.

"You're one of the people who barged in earlier… Do you know what's going on?"

"May I borrow that?" Karissa pointed at the megaphone in his hands.

"Huh? But why?"

"I need to say something." Karissa held her hand out and stared at him with a straight face. The man holding the megaphone sweat dropped as he felt the impatience and irritation radiating off her, contrasting her exterior display. He didn't challenge her patience any further and simply gave it to her without saying anything.

Karissa cleared her throat.

"A melody of death will be playing in five minutes by a dark guild. Get away from here as fast as possible. Thank you."

Karissa lowered the megaphone and was about to hand it back to the staff member. But then she brought it back in front of her mouth.

"Oh and, yes, this is the time to be panicking. Run if you don't want to die."

There was a brief pause.

Everyone started screaming and running away.

Karissa put down the megaphone and looked at the staff member, "You should run too." the girl held out the object for him to take back but all he did was run away from her in fear. Karissa blinked. She simply dropped the object on the ground without a care and looked at the crowd fleeing away.

"There might still be some people nearby who are oblivious to the situation…" she mumbled to herself as she felt the wind pick up. She brushed a piece of her behind her ear. "In that case, I should quickly find all the speakers and destroy them all before it's too late. Hopefully Gray and Natsu are keeping him busy…"

?!

The wind was picking up and becoming stronger, an abnormal phenomenon for such a beautiful day.

Karissa whirled around and her eyes went wide as she found the train station surrounded by a whirlwind.

"The hell is this?!"

It looks… intense and really dangerous. I shouldn't go near it!

"Oh? A little fly is outside?" A familiar voice spoke from above.

Karissa whipped her head up only to find Erigor flying in the air above her looking quite smug. Her dark brown eyes narrowed at the sight of him upon realization. The one who caused this powerful whirlwind was that assassin.

She got into a readied stance as he kept watching her.

"No matter." Erigor directed his palm at her. "It won't be an issue."

Karissa's eyes widened and darted to her left when she felt a gust of wind approaching from that direction. Quickly, she leaped backwards and made sure that her wind carried her away from the whirlwind. As a wind user, she knew that the spell he just casted around the station wasn't something she should take lightly.

His goal isn't mass murder in Oshibana. If it was, he would still be inside the station in the broadcasting room or something.

If he defeated Natsu and Gray, he still wouldn't be out here.

It's not the Magic Council you're after right now… nor was broadcasting the Lullaby here.

So, what is your aim?!

Karissa charged wind vortexes in her hands and threw them at Erigor. The man dodged the attack in midair and glided in the air towards her with taunting her mockingly. But she didn't respond to it as she wasn't the type to retaliated in verbal clashes with her enemies.

I need to destroy that flute!

Karissa swung her arms up and created a wind barrier when he slashed his scythe at her. He leaned closer to her as she glared at him silently.

"I really don't have anymore time to waste on you, you pathetic wind user." He spat in her face before removing one hand from the scythe's handle. She sensed the magic power emanating from his palm. He was going to blast her back into the station!

"Ice Make: Twin Blade!" she created two sharply pointed ice swords in both hands, surprising Erigor for a brief moment. That small opening was enough for her to maneuver herself in the air to kick the man square in the chest as she dispelled her own wind barrier, forcing him downwards.

She was no stranger to aerial combat.

After learning of Ur's death years ago, she told herself to get stronger in whatever gift she was given, she did not slack off in training her molding ice magic nor her wind magic. She strived to improve in order to become the proficient wizard, in both fields of wind and ice, that she was today. It was necessary.

With a shout, she pitched the ice blades downwards after him, they spun after him at full speed.

"Your mere ice is nothing!" Erigor shouted, taking his scythe in both hands and doing a slashing motion towards them as he rose back up.

Move!

The two swords diverted directions, splitting up the moment his blade came close to shattering them away. Erigor's eyes widened. Karissa glared down at him from her position above. The ice blades made a U-turn before slashing him on his back simultaneously.

"D-Damn!" Erigor winced. The ice blades flew past each other and was making another U-turn to strike him once more.

"I'll knock the hell out of you and take that flute!" Karissa yelled as she flew down the moment she found her opening. "Ice Make…!"

"Don't underestimate me, you fly! Wind Palm!" His hand covered in a spiraling current of wind before shooting it at her. Karissa's eyes widened at the speed of it. She was barely able to dodge it when she hastily glided away, it grazed her cheek. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed a bell tower falling down from his attack.

Karissa clicked her tongue.

"Wind Shred!"

The black haired girl backed away as a barrage of wind blades came flying her way.

"Wind Lance!" Karissa casted and sent her own barrage of sharp wind arcs. Then he vanished just as her attack was about to hit him. He was appearing in brief flashes around her.

He's fast! Damn it! Where the hell—?!

All of a sudden, she felt her hood get pulled, causing her to choke as her jacket's collar rose up to her throat. She felt herself tilt and then get thrown backwards. Erigor appeared in her field of vision, becoming smaller and smaller. Karissa's eyes went wide. He had thrown her at the whirlwind with a blast of wind!

The wind around her was becoming stronger fast.

Karissa spun around in mid air and felt dread fill her being as she got closer to the wind.

"That'll tear you to shreds if you don't think fast!" He laughed.

Shit!

Erigor watched as the woman got pulled along the currents of the wind, leaving her fate unknown.

A black haired wizard was dashing through the halls as soon as he defeated his opponent. He needed to find Erza in order to inform her of the situation. Karissa's hunch about targeting someone with authority was right on the money. Eisenwald's true goal resided in Clover, the town up a head, where the Guild Master conference was being held. They were planning to play the melody of death and kill them all.

"I need to hurry!" Gray picked up the pace.

As he sped off in the hallway, he came across an open-air balcony that greeted him with a powerful gust of wind. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wind at the wind barrier surrounding the station.

"What in the…?" Gray stepped closer to the balcony. "Don't tell me we're stuck in here. Shit."

All of a sudden, a woman with long black hair was practically tossed at his feet, startling him. Their face was hidden from their hair being sprawled everywhere, but their clothes were a dead give away despite being somewhat shredded.

It took him a second to process what happened.

"Karissa!" Gray kneeled down. He reached for her shoulder and moved her so that he could get a better look at her. He moved her damn hair away from her face, revealing a wincing expression. At least she was conscious, so that was good.

"What happened to you?" his hands hovered over her body, not quite sure where to put them.

"That piece of crap, Erigor…" Karissa sat up and held her arm, the one she landed on, and glared at the wind barrier. "I was fighting him outside the barrier but he caught me off guard and tossed me in here. I think he was trying to kill me when he did." She wiped off the blood on her cheek with her sleeve.

Gray observed her for any serious injuries. "What do you mean?"

Karissa looked at him with and pointed at the wind barrier with her thumb. "You try to touch it and it'll make mincemeat out of you."

Gray's eyes widened and he looked back at the wind barrier. And she got caught in that?!

"Are you okay? Can you stand up?"

She sighed and pushed herself up. "I'm only fine since I surrounded myself with my own wind. It helped lessen the damage."

She noticed the dried blood on his forehead and his white jacket.

"Your other arm is bleeding." Gray pointed out while making sure she could stand.

"Yeah, well, I was a bit slow so that's my fault. Don't worry, my legs aren't injured though. So, I'll be fine."

Gray stared at her. "Are you sure?"

Karissa huffed. "I swear. Just a few minor cuts here and there. Nothing bad."

Gray eyed her suspiciously until he heaved out a breath. There wasn't any time to question her right now, but if he found out she was lying, she was going to get an earful from him.

"Can you do something about it?" Gray nudged his head towards the wind blocking all their exits.

"If I could, I would have done it by now." Karissa sighed as she moved her hair out of her face.

"Maybe a dude from Eisenwald can figure it out."

"Maybe."

He patted Karissa's back as a way to tell her that they needed to move, and then, he started running back to where he would have access to the first floor. Karissa had no trouble running by his side.

…

…

…

"So, that's where he's going." Karissa gritted her teeth angrily. "Damn, I should have fought harder to stop him. I can't believe I let the meeting in Clover slip my mind too."

"There's no point in regretting that now. We need to find a way to get out of here as soon as possible if we want to save Gramps."

"Right."

…

…

…

Earlier, Erza had grown suspicious of Karissa's prolonged absence after she finished tying up the dark guild members and thus decided to go check on the situation on her own. That's when she learned of the wind barrier surrounding the station. She had tried getting through the barrier on her own, but that only resulted in her arm getting injured in the process. With only the rest of Eisenwald at her disposal for a solution, she began questioning those who were conscious.

"Erza!"

The scarlet haired wizard looked up without letting go of the man's collar. She spotted the two ice wizards on a higher floor.

"Gray? You're not with Natsu? And Karissa, how did you end up…?"

"I got into a scuffle with Erigor outside before getting thrown inside." Karissa replied bluntly.

"We split up." Gray replied to his own question. "And never mind that now! Eisenwald's real objective is the town down the line from here! It's the place where the old guys are having their regular meeting! They plan on using the Lullaby there!"

Gray put his hand on the rail before swinging his legs over the rail, dropping down to the floor below. Karissa followed in suit and landed behind him.

"Erigor's getting closer to the Masters while we waste our time in here…" Erza said, frustrated by their current situation. "Karissa, is there anyway you can dispel the wind barrier?"

Karissa shook her head, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry. I can't."

Gray, who was already getting fed up by how much time they were spending in the station, growled and marched over to kick an Eisenwald member. "Don't they know how to nullify the wind barrier?!"

"Stop it. I already tried. They know nothing—" Erza gasped. "I just remembered!" She quickly turned to look at her two friends. "There was someone called Kage in Eisenwald! And if I remember correctly, he broke Lullaby's seal all by himself!"

Karissa's eyes widened. "Right! I forgot about that! So, that guy's a dispeller!?"

Gray wiped off the blood from his forehead. "Then he could dispel the magic wind wall, too!"

Karissa snapped her fingers. "It's the guy that went after Natsu! Natsu told me he was the guy he met on the train. We have to find him!"

"Then that's gonna be easy. That idiot causes a ruckus everywhere he goes." Gray smirked at her.

"Let's go!" Erza ran off with the two following after her.

Their next objective was decided: Find Natsu and capture Kage.

As Gray mentioned earlier, it was quite easy to find Natsu. The three of them were running in the hallway until they heard the station rumbling along with a shout. It gave them quite the hint as to where the fire wizard was located.

The three mages ran back and followed the sound of Natsu's victorious laugh. Kage was slouched against a against the well, looking beaten, as expected of Natsu.

"Natsu!" Erza shouted down the hall. "That's enough! We need him!"

For once Gray seemed pleased with Natsu as he grinned. "Good job, shitty flame!"

"Just stay there!" Karissa pointed at him when he looked at them dumbly.

"What's on with you guys?" he asked curiously as the three rushed past him. "We have no time to explain. We were looking for him." Gray said simply before Erza summoned out of her swords, and grabbed Kage by the front of his jacket, shoving him up against the wall with her sword pointed at his face.

Kage visibly winced.

"I want the wind barrier to be dispelled at once. You'll gain a new cut every time you say 'no'."

Kage whimpered and eyed the tip of the blade next to his cheek.

Natsu stepped back as his mouth dropped open. "Hey… he's all worn out. That's too cruel!"

Gray clicked his tongue. "Shut up!"

"Threats like these are efficient." Karissa pointed out flatly. "So let her."

Erza pressed him harder against the wall. "Understood?"

The Eisenwald member didn't say anything for a while. Karissa hoped he had the common sense to do as she said or else she was seriously going to go through with her threat. Hell, she was willing to bet they all would since time was of the essence.

"… U… Underst—" Kage suddenly coughed out a blood when a sword was run through his body, startling everyone. A few seconds had passed for Gray, Karissa and Natsu as they registered what just happened in front of them. As he fell forward, they could see an Eisenwald member inside a wall with his hand held out in a way that looked like he was holding a sword. Erza quickly dropped her sword and held Kage who had passed out from the literal backstabbing betrayal from his comrade.

"Kage! Hang in there!" Erza cried. "We need your help!"

Karissa and Gray bolted to their side at a loss. Their only hope…

"Seriously!? Shit!" Gray put a hand on the guy's shoulder, not quite sure what to do.

"We need to do something quick!" Karissa looked at the sword. They couldn't pull out the sword unless they wanted him to bleed to death.

They didn't have anything to treat his wound.

We need to do something!

Karissa grabbed Gray's hand to grab his attention. "Did you see any first aid stuff when you were—" She flinched when she saw Natsu leap in her direction with his fire. He flew past her and broke through the wall, clobbering the guy who betrayed Kage.

The black haired girl simply stared at Natsu, who stood above him, he was seething with rage.

"Kage! Pull yourself together!"

Karissa snapped out of it upon hearing Erza. She watched as she tried shaking him awake.

"Erza!" Karissa cried, worried about the how the agitation might injure him further.

"He can't! He's unconscious!" Gray tried to reason with her.

"I can't let him die!" Erza shouted.

"You can say that, but he can't use his magic in this condition!" Gray raised his voice since she was clearly being unreasonable and desperate.

"He needs to do it!"

"He can't do it, Erza!" Karissa interjected, backing her friend up. "He just can't! Now, do you want to let him die now?! If we treat him fast then he might wake up later!"

After calming the two down, Karissa suggested they look for some medical supplies that the train station should have stored somewhere. Natsu, Gray and Lucy (who arrived shortly after), went off to find the room where it was stored, leaving Erza and Karissa with Kage. Karissa took that moment to freeze and shatter the sword with her ice and temporarily freeze his wounds shut. It would help reduce the damage by cauterizing the best way that she could before the others returned.

Once Kage was treated, they went outside to face to wind barrier problem.

…

…

…

Karissa charged a vortex of wind in her palms and launched it at the wind barrier. When Karissa saw the gap appear within, she reached out her hand but then quickly retracted it once the barrier's winds sealed up the whole rapidly.

A vein popped on the side of her head as she glared in front of her. Karissa whirled around and stomped away next to Gray. Erigor's wind barrier was definitely a hassle.

Natsu, who clearly saw her attempt, still ran towards it with a fistful of fire, only to be sent rolling away with fresh cuts.

"See? That's what happens when you try to bust through." Gray said while looking back at Natsu.

That didn't stop him for trying again though.

Even when Lucy told him to stop, he still tried busting through in spite of getting hurt every time he did. Karissa looked over her shoulder. Erza was still trying to make Kage wake up by staying by his side and watching him.

We've already wasted so much time here… we need to get out.

"Ahh!" Natsu exclaimed while throwing his arms in the air. He turned around to face Lucy with a grin, "We could use your spirits!"

Gray and Karissa looked at the two upon hearing that.

"I was able to transport between places by going through the Spirit World at the Everlue mansion, remember?"

"Transport?" Karissa repeated with a quirked brow.

"Well, a normal person would die if they did that. You can't breathe. And anyway, the gate can only open where the Celestial wizard is."

"Huh?"

"In other words, if you wanted to pass through the Spirit World to escape, the least you'd need is a Celestial Wizard outside the station."

"Ah, okay. So, there's still no hope right now." Karissa sighed next to her friend. "So now what?"

Gray shrugged with his arms crossed. "Don't look at me. I have no clue." He glanced at Kage on the floor with a deep frown. "Unless that guy wakes up, I don't see us getting out of here any time soon."

I don't want Master Makarov to die from a stupid melody…

Karissa played with her hands anxiously without realizing it.

Gray and Karissa were proven wrong the moment Happy let out a cry of realization. Karissa had honestly forgotten that he was with them seeing how quiet he was. It turns out that, because of their last job together, Lucy was able to acquire a spirit key named Virgo. According to Happy, Virgo was capable of drilling holes, it was possible that she could drill a hole under the wind barrier for them to finally get out.

Judging by Lucy's reaction, he was correct.

After summoning the spirit Virgo, Lucy asked her to dig them a hole out of there, which she did without delay.

Karissa allowed everyone to crawl through the hole before she did. Before she even reached the other end, she could already feel the wind coming from above. The girl poked her head out and her hair was already whipping around everywhere, much to her annoyance. She planted her hands on the ground to push herself up, but she quickly dropped back down after feeling a sharp pain on her arm.

It was the arm she landed on earlier.

"Are you serious… Erza! Can you help me up, please?"

"Did you hurt yourself?" Erza reached for her injured arm to pull her up while Karissa used to better one to make the job easier. "Sort of."

Karissa blinked and observed the area around her, then she suddenly felt something fly into her eye. "Ow! What the heck?! Ugh..." She stepped back a little with her hands covering her eyes, just in case more things went into her eyes. Then, her heel hit something just as she fell back on her butt.

"Owww...!" She angrily removed her hands off her eyes only to see the shadow user Kage on the floor, she twitched. "Oi! Natsu! Why did you just leave his … body…?"

Where'd he go?

"Princess!"

Karissa looked behind her curiously.

Lucy was covering the front of her skirt while her maid spirit Virgo covered the back. "Your underwear can be seen!" she said seriously unaware of her own being perfectly displayed in front of Gray who turning a bit red at the sight.

Boys, I swear. It's just underwear.

"It's no use… You'll never be able to catch up now. We… win…" Kage spoke next to her.

"You mean Natsu?" Karissa stood up. "He seriously left?!"

"With Happy!" Lucy realized when the blue cat was nowhere to be seen as well.

"We must hurry after them." Erza ran in the direction where they left their magic vehicle but she skidded to a stop when she saw that it was nothing but rubble.

Eisenwald destroyed their magic vehicle.

Karissa felt bad for the owner.

"Are you for real?" Gray groaned.

Those who left their belongings in the car were able to salvage it from it unscathed. From there, Erza located another Magic Four-Wheeler for them to use. It was different from the one they used to get to Oshibana. This one looked more like a tourist vehicle with its open air. There were no doors on this one. It only had a roof to protect those who sat in the back.

As Erza sat in front, Karissa shot up from her seat in the back and shoved her arm next to her, startling her a bit.

"Strap it on." She told her firmly. "I told you: I'm getting drained this time."

Seeing the insisting look in her eyes, Erza willingly gave up the SE Plug to her. She pulled on the plug and stretched it back so that the younger one could sit back and keep it strapped on. Gray sat next to Karissa with Kage next to him while Lucy sat across the three.

With a deep breath, Karissa focused her magic power on the SE plug and was easily able to get the vehicle moving at full speed.

Good. Just gotta keep it constant.

…

…

…

They eventually made it to the canyon. They were driving on the train tracks that would get them to Clover. It was quite an awkward ride with the injured man inside.

"I take my hat off to Eisenwald for their precautions. They made sure our vehicle was destroyed." Gray said nonchalantly as Lucy complained about the compensating the owner of their previous vehicle.

Kage scoffed. "And you stole another car. How irresponsible."

Lucy whipped her back. "We're borrowing it! Erza said so!"

As they drove deeper into Clover Canyon, Kage finally decided to ask a question that had been weighing on his mind.

"So, tell me... Why are you taking me with you?"

"Because you obviously need a doctor! And since everyone left town, you'll have to see one in Clover. Try to show some gratitude." Lucy replied as Kage kept staring at the floor.

"... I don't understand... Why are you helping me? We're enemies." He said while taking a glance at Lucy.

Karissa turned her head to give the guy a baffled look while he wasn't looking. Gray's eyes looked at her for a second.

We're not like you. We don't leave people to die like that.

"Oh, I get it... You're taking me hostage so you can try to make a deal with Erigor. Well you can forget it. He's as cold blooded as they come. He wouldn't do a thing for me." He muttered rather gloomily.

Karissa stared at him. Was he serious? Geez, he needed to lighten up. Were all dark guild mages this depressing?

Fed up with his nonsense, Gray leaned his arm on the back backrest and looked at him. "I can kill you right now if you wan a die that badly." Kage's eyes widened when he said that. "Everything doesn't have to be decided by life and death, you know. Think about the future a little, will you?" he sighed before looking at the view. "All of you."

Suddenly the magic vehicle jolted and jumped, tilting to the side for a moment, causing everyone in it to fall off their seats, Karissa watched as Lucy somehow rammed her ass into the injured man's face, knocking his head against the metal pole of the vehicle. Gray tripped over his feet as he tried checking on Erza, resulting in him bumping his head against Karissa's.

"Oww!" She whined, slowing down the four-wheeler.

"Oh, shit! Sorry." Gray held up his hands just in case she lashed out at him.

"Screw you!" she glared at him with small tears.

Gray already sensed her sour mood increasing so it made him make up for it by creating a small ice pack for her. He gently set it on the side of her head and waited for her to take it. She did.

"Thank you." She mumbled with a childish pout.

…

…

…

"Hey, good job." Karissa waved at Natsu as the vehicle got close to him. Erigor was lying in front of him and he was unconscious. Gray hopped off the vehicle before it came to a complete stop. His top was gone, leaving him only in his scarf and his pants. Karissa heaved out a sigh as she unclipped the SE plug from her wrist. She felt a little out of it. She didn't expect anything else since the route was much longer than what they previously traveled.

"Karissa, are you okay?" Lucy wondered as Karissa stepped out of the magic vehicle.

"I'll be fine."

Whoa… it's like feeling headrush.

"Are you sure? I'm sure you spent a lot of magic power…"

"Nah, I'm just not used to being this empty." She told her as she approached Natsu with Erza. Lucy stood behind her just in case.

Gray eyed the dragon slayer from head to toe. Then he cringed. "Wearing a scarf while you're naked makes you look abnormal."

Karissa snickered at him and nodded her head mockingly. "Yes, of course. Like you have room to talk."

Natsu clicked his tongue and scowled at the ice wizard. "Exactly. I don't need you to tell me that."

Erza looked at Natsu proudly. "Anyway, good job, Natsu. With this, we've protected the Guild Masters. Since we're here, we might as well go see our Master at the meeting place. We need to report this incident and ask about what to do with the flute."

Karissa shoved her hands in her jacket's pockets and slouched a little. "Can't I just stomp on it? That way no one gets to use it ever again."

"Destroying the flute?! I'm in!" Natsu grinned at her.

"I can shred it to pieces with my wind and you can turn it into ashes!" Karissa held up her hand.

"Sounds like a plan!" Natsu high fived her while laughing.

All of a sudden, the magic four-wheeler just sped past them, it nearly knocked them off the tracks and into the canyon.

Karissa squeaked out a foreign sound when her eyes looked down at the darkness of the canyon.

Holy…!

"Kage!" Erza yelled once she gathered herself up with the others.

"Freaking nearly knocked us over!" Karissa hissed.

"At least give us a warning before you move the vehicle!" Gray yelled as he turned around to see him poking his head out the window with a malicious grin.

"You were careless! Lullaby's mine now!"

And with that he sped off to Clover, leaving them stranded in the middle of Clover Canyon.

Natsu combusted into flames. "THAT BASTARD!"

"What the hell?! We even saved his life!" Lucy stomped her foot.

"After him!"

Our bags are in there!

My bag…!

My…

…

Karissa stared at the pair of headphones in awe. It was her first time seeing a store full of them.

"Wow!" she held it up to her friend. "Look Laxus! Look there are even different kinds!"

"Those are the normal ones." Laxus waved his hand dismissively. "Sound Pods are better."

"Well, whatever." Karissa giggled. She moved the maroon coloured headphones around in her hands. "I still think it looks cool!"

Laxus shrugged with his hands in his pockets. "Whatever floats your boat."

…

Karisas gritted her teeth.

They're already worn out as it is!

Karissa did her best to shortened the distance by carrying everyone with her wind magic but she wasn't able to do much because of her drained magic power. No one held it against her.

By the time they arrived, night had descended upon the town of Clover. They found the magic vehicle abandoned somewhere at the entrance of the town. Gray, Lucy and Karissa ran to it to get their things before catching up with Natsu and Erza. Karissa was so relieved that her headphones were in one piece.

Everyone but Erza knew where the Masters' conference was being held so they just let her lead the way.

As they made it up a hill, they found Kage standing in front of Master Makarov near the meeting hall, the flute up to his lips. They were about to dash down the hill until they were stopped by someone who told them to keep quiet.

"Shh! The best part is coming up. Just watch~"

Gray, Lucy and Natsu stepped away from the person in complete shock as they were creeped out by their appearance. Behind them stood a round elderly bald man dressed in a purple spaghetti-strap shirt. He had the mark of Blue Pegasus on his right shoulder.

Karissa kept quiet. Ah… it's Master Bob.

"You guys are so cute~ Totally my type!" Master Bob giggled behind his hand, giving Gray and Natsu a flirty look. The two boys held each other fearfully and backed away from Master Bob.

"Wh-Who is he?!" Lucy stared at him, confused.

"Master Bob." Erza identified, unaware of Karissa slowly inching away from the group.

"Oh~? Erza-chan, you've sure grown!" he said happily. The black haired girl saw how he turned his head to look at her, and then a huge smile erupted on his face. "Aw, Karissa-chan, it's been a while since I saw you." Master Bob floated towards her, stopping her escape attempt. He reached for her face and pinched her cheeks with a joyful look.

Her friends watched the scene with surprise. Those who knew her well must have figured that she was slightly annoyed by the gesture.

"Your cheeks are just as soft and stretchy as last time. How cute~"

Karissa had actually met Master Bob when she was on a job with Pandora and Van back when she was fourteen.

"Werr… I ghuugh thuat'shh a gugh thing." Karissa sweated dropped. "…Fhight?" she furrowed her brows.

"And your oriental look is so appealing as always~!" he cooed before gingerly releasing her face.

The girl rubbed her cheeks. Always touchy feely.

No one had really openly pointed out that characteristic back when they lived in Iceberg. It was only after a few years they began living in Fiore that people started mentioning it to them since other people in the guild also came from other places in the world. It was interesting to learn about those people's origins.

They remarked that the three of them looked a bit oriental, possibility hinting that Domilia and Zack were not born in Fiore. It made her wonder if people from the east were born with abnormal amounts of magic power as well.

"Like we said before, just remain calm and watch. This is getting good." The Master of The Quatro Cerberus, Master Goldmine told while leaning back on a tree, grinning confidently.

The members of Fairy Tail felt reluctant to listen to the Guild Masters as their own was in danger, but the confidence coming from them slowly made them back down with unease.

…

…

…

"Nothing will change." Makarov told Kage as he hesitated to play the Lullaby flute. "Humans that are weak will always be weak, no matter how much time goes by. But weakness is not always a bad thing. Humans are weak by nature after all. It's not easy to be alone, and therefore we establish guilds. Where we have friends and allies. To flourish, we work together and always progress. The clumsy ones may run into more walls than others, and they might also take the longer way to get there. But as long as we believe in tomorrow and put on foot before the other, we'll be able to find our strength. If you lead a strong life, you'll be able to smile. Without having to be dependent on a silly old flute."

In silence, the members observed Kage who trembled with the Lullaby flute until he finally dropped it. Convinced by their master's words, he fell to his knees and lowered his head, admitting his loss and regretting his decisions that led him to where he was.

With relieved smiles, the members finally approached the master. Master Makarov did a double take when he saw his children running up to him from out of nowhere.

"Why are you here!?"

"As expected!" Erza slammed their Master against her armor, hugging him close. "Your words were moving!"

Natsu laughed happily. He crouched down next to Master Makarov after he was put back down and patted his head like a child. "Gramps, you're incredible!"

"Stop patting my head if you really think so." Master Makarov gave him a look.

Gray breathed a sigh and put his hands in his pockets. "Then that settles everything."

Karissa stretched her arms above her head with a delighted smile on her face. "All that's left is to figure out what to do with the Lullaby flute." She dropped her arms back down and turned around to look at the abandoned flute. "I still say we break it." she said with a smirk, her hands had small wind blades swirling around her. Gray grinned at her toned excitement and looked over his shoulder to watch her.

"HEY! Don't go destroying it without me!" Natsu yelled, stumbling out of crouching position as he ran over to her. He brushed past Gray harshly and made him stumbled a little which obviously irked him.

"Watch it, you fire freak!"

Karissa stuck her tongue out playfully at Natsu. "Too late! Wind—"

Her spell was cut of when a demonic laugh sounded from the flute at her feet. Everyone behind them had ceased their chatter. Natsu skidded to a stop next to her and they both stared at it, their eyes wide open. Karissa and Natsu took a step back carefully, creeped out. Purple sparks and black smoke began seeping out of the flute as it spoke with glowing purple eyes.

"Nothing but a bunch of cowardly wizards, each and every one of you!"

"The flute is talking!" Natsu freaked.

"Yeah…" Karissa agreed dumbly.

"I can't take it anymore! I shall feast upon your pitiful souls!"

The purple smoke gathered together in a big cloud above them before flashing a brief light, momentarily blinding them. The next thing Karissa knew, the ground shook twice and there was big monster towering above them, laughing evilly. It looked like a beast made out of out with a few cutouts on its body, it probably represented the holes from its flute form.

Ow...!

The girl with black hair winced a little when she felt a sharp pain in her head. She lifted a hand up to her temple.

That thing… it reminds me of…

It reminds me of Deliora…

Kageyama stared at the monster with widened eyes, "What is that thing?! I-I didn't know anything about this!" he scooted away.

Goldmine pushed himself off of the tree and took a good look at the creature before him, "That monster is Lullaby itself, meaning it's living magic. That's Zeref's magic."

Lullaby leered over them with its eerie smile. "Now… whose soul should I enjoy first?"

The Guild Masters who came outside the meeting room started running away to save themselves.

"All of yours!" Lullaby opened its mouth.

Yeah… not happening. I don't want to die today.

Before it could even proceed with whatever spell it was planning to use, four mages of Fairy Tail dashed forward without hesitation.

Erza requipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor and struck first.

Gray and Karissa scratched the floor with their shoes as they stopped a few feet away. They both slammed their fist in their palms.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray's ice lances flew at Lullaby, striking it in the middle.

"Ice Make: Trident!" Karissa's giant trident flew and pierced into Lullaby, destabilizing its equilibrium.

Natsu took that opening for himself. "Fire Dragon: Iron Fist!"

Lullaby stumbled back and turned its ugly head towards Natsu. "How impudent!" it roared and shot beams at Natsu who narrowly avoided it in time.

"Gray!" Karissa moved away from the attack and jumped up.

"Yeah, yeah! I know! You don't have to tell me!" Gray stood in front of the Guild Masters and casted an ice shield to protect them, impressing them greatly with his timing and his molding magic.

Karissa watched the monster carefully as she levitated with her wind. It didn't notice her yet. That was good.

That's right, keep your eyes on Erza, Natsu and Gray…

She lowered her head a little as she closed her eyes, she opened her hands in front of each and bent her fingers.

The nature of wind and ice attributed each other perfectly.

A violent current of wind began to form around her hands.

The result may as well be a storm.

Karissa's eyes narrowed as she slammed her right fist in her open left palm. "Ice Make: Thousand Spears!"

As the wind accumulated, large ice spears began forming until she created a tempest of wind and ice, lowering the temperature around her, emitting a strong feeling of magic power in the air.

My own kind of hailstorm.

She closed her dark brown eyes.

Concentrate…

Focus like you're threading a needle…

Several Guild Masters began shivering and complaining about the cold.

Goldmine quirked a brow as he felt the air chill. The other Guild Masters were also observing the girl in the air.

"A Singular Raid?" he identified as he watched her concentrate.

Lucy looked over her shoulder when he said that and then followed his gaze to look at Karissa, she was getting goosebumps from the chill. "A Singular Raid? Don't you mean Unison Raid?" she glanced at Erza and Gray who continued to attack. The others were fighting and buying her time to fire off a powerful spell.

Happy watched Karissa attentively next to Lucy. "It's like Unison Raid but with a single person. Just like the Unison Raid, it creates a powerful attack after uniting two kinds of magic together. It's not as powerful as Unison Raid but it's still very strong. It's an ability that very few wizards can perform, Karissa is one of those few."

"But why?"

"Because the amount of magic power that Karissa was born with lets her create a wind and ice spell equivalent to that of two different wizards casting each spell. Hence the reason it's called Singular Raid."

Karissa's fingers twitched as her eyes shot open. She threw her arms open, "Glacial Cyclone!"

Instantly, the wind and ice tempest soared in the air before charging down, freezing the leaves of nearby trees. The wind slashed the monster's body and the ice mercilessly pierced into its body which made the demon cry out in pain from her attack.

"Damn you!"

Karissa stared down at the demon with apathy as it tried to attack her, completely unaware of the fire mage flying towards it.

"Fire Dragon: Brilliant Flame!" Natsu threw a giant ball of flames at Lullaby as the final blow.

Karissa breathed out a cloud of white as the attack cooled down, the temperature was returning to normal around her.

The four wizards observed the demon as it stumbled back from taking on their magical assaults until finally falling back. Despite the obvious defeat, the four mages stood tall and waited readily just in case it got back up. It crashed on the building with a groan while mumbling words of disbelief. Then it exploded into fragments of light, raining down around them. It was oddly beautiful for a demon's demise.

Karissa sighed in relief as finally relaxed. Her eyes shifted to look at those who were down below, they were cheering for their victory. Karissa's eyes narrowed when she noticed her vision getting a little blurry. That was her cue to get back down before she hurt herself.

The youngest Sinclost flew down slowly next to Erza and Gray who smiled at her. When she got on her feet, she lost her footing a little. Gray reached out and grabbed her arm to keep her steady.

"You good?"

Karissa laughed lightly. "Yeah. I think that Singular Raid used up most of what I had left..."

She could always count on that one spell to make sure she felt a little drained.

With a snicker, Gray roughly ruffled her hair much to her dismay and just grinned at her. "You're complaining? I thought you wanted to feel like this once in a while?"

Karissa looked to the side as she stood straight. "I mean yeah…" she scratched her cheek with a finger.

It's true that she wanted to feel drained of magic power just so she could feel like the average mage, but that didn't mean she couldn't complain about it.

"At least it's over now." Erza spoke which made the two ice mages smile.

The Lullaby incident was resolved. Eisenwald had been stopped and the flute was destroyed.

...

...

...

But that didn't deter the other Guild Masters from being upset with them for destroying their meeting hall.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Karissa was next to Gray and simply gazed up at the demon silently while she lied flat on the ground on her back. He sat on the edge of an inclining rock, hunched over with his elbows on his knees. She knew he was both sad and angry since she felt somewhat the same with the first being the stronger emotion within her.

Thankfully, Lucy, Natsu and Happy were asleep in the back. Just moments ago, the blonde wizard thought it would be wise to play some soothing music with the help of one of her celestial spirits named Lyra. A stupid idea honestly. Karissa wondered why she couldn't simply deal with her boredom by trying to sleep like Natsu. Time would pass much faster for her. Gray had put a stopped to it when his sniffle echoed throughout the cave, telling them that it would be best to keep quiet. It was a little after he said that when Lucy and Happy simply gave in to sleep, leaving the two ice mages on look out.

Karissa narrowed her eyes a little and she sat up.

Ouch.

Gray shifted his head a little to glance at her when he heard her sharp inhale behind her teeth. She had her elbow on her knee while her forehead was set firmly in the center of her palm, her face wincing a little. She let out a shuddering breath.

"What's the matter?" he asked softly to not wake the others.

"… Head hurts a little." She replied in the same tone, lightly shaking her head to try and feel better. The sharp pain was slowly fading, just not fast enough for her liking.

"Sleep it off." He suggested. "You can lay down and rest. I'll keep watching out for them."

She presses her lips together. Sleep. That sounded quite nice actually. She and Gray had been sitting in silence for what felt like an eternity. It also didn't help that there was no way of telling what time it was down below. Still, she didn't feel right about falling asleep right in front of Deliora. It only made sense for her to feel cautious in the presence of destruction incarnate.

For all she knew, that thing could break out of the ice and just stomp on her while she slept.

Karissa sighed and scratched her head. "No, I'll stay up." She peered up.

Gray observed her for a while in silence. If they were going to face some enemies the moment the moon came out, he didn't want her being at a disadvantage from some headache.

All of a sudden, there was some light rumble.

Gray looked around.

Karissa put a hand on the ground cautiously. The rumbling got a bit stronger.

The rumbling continued and then there was a loud sound of shifting rocks. Karissa's head shot up when she heard it coming from above. The ceiling above Deliora was creating a hole right above the monster, allowing purple light to shine down on the monster. The others had woken up and noticed the same thing and was baffled at the sight.

Gray clenched his fists and stood up. "We have to find where the light's coming from!" he said urgently.

The group followed Gray's lead up some stairs. As they passed the other floors on their way up, they found the floors in the same state as the ceiling underground. All the temple floors had the same circular hole. The purple light was coming from outside.

That was when Karissa remembered the time she was on the boat tied up with Gray. She had noticed light shinning at the top of the island. That must have been the reason why moonlight was shinning down on Deliora.

Once they arrived at the top, they found a group of people dressed in dark cloaks and masks, and they were chanting something in some ancient language that none of them knew.

Quickly, they hid behind a partially destroyed wall and watched as they chanted all together.

Lucy's spirit, Lyra seemed to know about the spell.

"It's a Belianese spell called the Moon Drip... I see, that's what they're trying to do. They're using the Moon Drip spell to melt the ice surrounding Deliora so they can resurrect it."

Karissa's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. What kind of people would want to resurrect that horrible monster?!

Her fist clenched tightly. Clearly, they were dealing with people who wouldn't think twice about snuffing the life out of people in Fiore.

"They can't!" Gray exclaimed, "The ice used in an Iced Shell can't be melted!"

"I hate to break it to you, but that's not entirely true. While the Iced Shell is strong it can be melted using Moon Drip, focused moon energy can break any magical spell."

Both Gray and Karissa were getting agitated and angry now that they were aware of Deliora's potential revival.

"I think what the islanders believe is a curse against them may actually be side effects of the Moon Drip. Concentrated moon energy can contaminate your body." Lyra explained. "I'm afraid those poor islanders have been exposed to way too much of it."

Just when Natsu was about to jump up and stop them, Lucy elbowed him up in the face. She pointed out that someone was showing up, a small group was walking towards the people chanting. There was a person wearing a horned helmet walking in front of those they saw from earlier. She saw how that person walked and how the others kept their distance from them. He was definitely the leader.

The Fairy Tail group hid more carefully as they listened to Sherry report to about intruders. She referred to the person as 'Reitei'. She also mentioned that Deliora's revival would be happening today or the next day. Not good.

"At long last…" the leader spoke.

Next to her, Gray inhaled sharply and stiffened. Karissa looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"As for the intruders… I've come too far to be interfered with now."

Sherry nodded. "The only people on this island are in the village on the outskirts."

"Go destroy the village." He commanded.

Karissa narrowed her eyes at him. And he just said that without hesitation. Yeah, he clearly has no care for the lives of others. People like that always makes me fucking sick.

"I'm not fond of blood, but…" Reitei shrugged a shoulder. "It must be done."

"That voice…" Gray spoke in disbelief. "No… there's no way."

"What? You recognize it?" Karissa asked him.

"You mean you don't know?!"

Her reply was cut off when Natsu jumped on the broken wall and started roaring about their identity with a breath of fire. Once they saw Natsu's shoulder, they immediately knew where they came from. Even so, Reitei wanted them to carry out their new mission despite knowing who the intruders were.

"Those who stand in the way, and those who concocted said scheme… All are my enemies."

Oh, you piece of—

His cold-hearted words made both Gray and Natsu angry as they both charged ahead towards the Reitei. Gray slammed his hand in his palm as he ran before jumping up and slamming his hands down on the ground, causing sharp walls of ice to burst one after the other. Reitei's subordinates jumped away from Gray's ice while their ringleader jumped forward.

Karissa gritted her teeth and jumped over the wall quickly and ran too.

When Reitei landed back on the ground, he set his palm on the ground and created his own walls of ice, almost identical to Gray's, making their ice walls collided and shatter once they couldn't go any further.

"Ice Make: Ten Blades!" Karissa created her Dauphine clock hands in a larger form and shot them towards Reitei, all ten homing in on him from different directions.

Reitei held up his hand. "Ice Make: Snow Tiger!"

Magic power emitted around him before a swirl of ice appeared in front of him, creating a large tiger that roared up at the moon before savagely clawing and shattering her ice to protect its caster. When the job was done it shattered away and it made ice rain around Reitei who calmly stood in his place.

"… Snow Tiger?" Karissa muttered as she staggered back a little. Her eyes widened by a fraction as she stared at Reitei with an uneasy feeling in her chest.

Karissa jumped away from Lyon and grinned as she kicked him in the back when she maneuvered around him.

The older boy yelped as he tumbled forward from the force. He quickly gathered himself up and created some distance from her.

Karissa watched him carefully with a mischievous grin.

The bluish silvered haired boy put his palm in his hand. "Ice Make: Snow Tiger!"

Was it a coincidence…?

It just couldn't be.

But that was one of his favorite spells.

One of his first ones too… he told me that.

"Lyon!" Gray growled, identifying and confirming of the leader. "Damn you… Do you even realize what you're doing?!"

…

…

…

What?

Reitei just gave him a chuckle. "It's been a while, Gray." Then he tipped his head to the side a little to look at Karissa who was standing a few feet away behind him. "And I see Karissa is here too."

Karissa swallowed. She lifted her hands a little and felt them shaking. She was having a hard time processing the reality. Lyon was the one trying to revive Deliora? Seriously?

Needless to say, this was not how she was expecting a reunion between former classmates to occur.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"To think that you were one of the wizards the villagers called here… Did you come here knowingly? Or was it sheer coincidence? Not that it makes any difference." Lyon spoke calmly. He seemed indifferent to Gray's anger and their reunion after several years. "But judging by that look on your face, Karissa, I'd say it was a coincidence."

"Acquaintances of yours, Reitei?" Yuka asked from behind Lyon's side.

He simply ignored the question and told them to get going. As soon as they darted off, Karissa put her fist in her palm to create a spell that would stop the three. But Natsu went on ahead to chase after them, alarming her and Gray. Natsu was getting closer to Lyon without even thinking about it. The idiot!

"Natsu!" Karissa yelled. "Stop it!"

"Don't go near him!" Gray shouted.

Too late. Lyon used his magic and surrounded the air around Natsu who just stopped in his tracks when he felt the immense chill around him. She saw ice slowly forming around her friend's body.

Diamond Cage… one of the spells he learned from her books!

Karissa looked back. "Happy! You get out with Lucy! Get far away from here!" she said urgently with a grave look. "Now!"

Hearing the alarm in her voice, the blue cat took a moment before nodding his head. He brought out his wings and flew up after grabbing the back of Lucy's shirt. As soon as Lyon lifted his hand towards them, Gray attacked him to buy them some time so that they could fly further away from Lyon.

"Shit! I can't move!" Natsu groaned once the ice surrounded his body. Karissa narrowed her eyes at him and walked closer to him, "That's what you get for acting reckless!"

Natsu needs to get out of here too.

Lyon stared at the three remaining Fairy Tail wizards before him. "No matter. I doubt those two can stop Sherry and the others."

"I wouldn't underestimate Fairy Tail wizards if I were you!" Natsu shouted at him just as Karissa placed a hand on the ice around his body. She harshly pushed Natsu off the edge of the temple, making him roll down. The pink haired wizard gaped at her as she stared down at him.

"What the hell?!" Natsu's voice grew smaller and smaller.

...

...

...

Now, it was just the three of them: three ice mages.

Karissa anxiously looked at Lyon who just chuckled in amusement.

"You put him safely and quickly outside the range of my magic. A very clever move."

"Diamond Cage." She named the spell. "It's one of the spells that you learned in Ur's warehouse. A spell for simple ice magic. The user is able to destroy the target if they blow up the ice surrounding it."

She and Gray were more or less familiar with some ice magic that was not ice molding magic. Ur did mention that it was possible to learn simple ice magic after all.

"As expected from someone who kept up with me." He said, his voice dripping with light haughtiness.

Gray clicked his tongue. "Stop it. Stop acting like you're our senior, Lyon! You're not Ur's student anymore!"

"None of us are." He shot back without missing a beat.

Lyon reached for his helmet and removed it off his head, revealing his natural bluish silver hair and black eyes that she remembered except now he looked like an adult and no longer a child. He stared at the helmet in his hands, "Because Ur is no longer of this world." He said simply.

That was the truth. The harsh and painful truth.

Gray stepped forward and glared at him. "She sacrificed her life to seal Deliora away! You're trying to destroy her legacy!" he shouted at him angrily.

Lyon's eyes narrowed when he said that. He looked up from his helmet and gritted his teeth. "Don't delude yourself. You killed Ur." he spat at him. "How could you live like that?"

Gray stiffened.

"It is presumptuous of you to even speak her name!" Lyon said and lifted his hand, shooting a spell in Gray's direction. He knocked him away with some type of ice puffer fish. It happened so fast that the two younger ice mages didn't even have time to react.

Or perhaps they were still a bit shaken up from the shocking revelation.

Gray flew back against a wall.

"Lyon! Stop it!" Karissa shouted at him and moved closer to him. Lyon shifted his attention towards her when she moved closer. He didn't attack her but his eyes made her stop her in her tracks.

His eyes…

They're…

"Did he tell you what happened?" Lyon asked her as he motioned his chin towards Gray. "Did this idiot tell you the truth of what he did ten years ago?"

Karissa held his gaze for a brief moment. "… Y-Yes. He did." She turned her head away and breathed. "He challenged Deliora when she told him not to. You and Ur had to follow him to stop him… and Ur used the Iced Shell to seal Deliora away. He told me ten years ago. I'm... I'm aware of everything."

"Is that so?" Lyon stared at her with a frown and a quirked brow. "Then it absolutely confounds me how you can stand next to the guy who got our teacher killed. I, for one, couldn't stand the sight of him."

Karissa glanced behind her and saw Gray sitting up from where he was knocked away. He was feeling guilty from hearing Lyon speak now that old wounds have been reopened.

"You know that Ur gave up her life to lock away Deliora… you were there. But you're trying to undo the spell which might result in thousands of people who might get killed once it's revived." She said rationally, "What is going on Lyon? Why are you being like this?"

"What I want has never changed." He simply said as he looked at her. "That's why I'm reviving it."

"You've lost it!" Gray yelled from afar as he approached them.

What he wants?

"So, I'd appreciate it if you two stayed away from here. Don't get in the way of Deliora's revival."

Karissa sighed heavily and dropped her head. Lyon wasn't going to stop. She couldn't quite comprehend things just yet since it was still hard to swallow the truth. She ran her fingers in her hair in frustration.

What does he want from all this?!

Deliora…

Why Deliora…

I can't think straight…!

The jumbled mess of her thoughts that were being thrown around by the memories of the past just agitated her greatly to the point where she didn't want to think anymore. Her heart and mind didn't want to be on the same wavelength. They were in conflict. Instead, she groaned and dragged her nails on her forehead and peeked at Lyon through the gap of her fingers.

…

…

…

I just can't let him do it!

Ur sacrificed herself for this!

We shouldn't be fighting!

This needs to stop!

Deliora must never move!

Karissa inhaled sharply before instantly putting her fist in her palm. Lyon's eyebrows rose lightly as he saw her preparing to use a spell. Gray's eyes widened and he skidded to a stop.

"Are you serious?" Lyon's fingers twitched.

"Ice Make: Frigid Thorns!" the black haired girl touched the floor and created three large ice spikes in front of her.

"Don't be foolish." Lyon warned as he dragged a foot back. "Ice Make: Shield." A shield of ice quickly gathered in front of him before forming a shield-like barrier for his body. It effectively blocked her ice.

She wasn't done. With a focused look, she leaped towards him with her fist in her palm.

Gray hurried over as he watched the battle take place. Ice spells were being shot everywhere and fragments flew around them. He swatted away a piece of ice that flew his way. He tried to help but she just threw an ice spike in front of his feet to keep him away. She didn't want him to help.

He knew exactly what she was doing.

Damn it… Karissa. You don't have to do that!

This isn't the same!

Karissa moved and sped towards him with her hands together. "Ice Make: Ice Halberd!" Karissa shouted before creating the polearm. She dragged her right foot back in a semi circle and held the polearm with the blade pointing at Lyon. The older pupil watched her carefully while she glared at him.

She hesitated but she still swung it towards him forcefully.

I need to stop him!

I have to stop this!

I have to…!

"Ice Make: Eagle!" several eagles flew towards Karissa while Lyon leaned away from her attack, narrowly missing it. The ice eagles were destroyed when she spun the ice halberd rapidly around her. While she swung the weapon downwards after destroying all of them, Lyon used that opening to leap forward with an arm enveloped in ice with a head of a lion.

Karissa's eyes widened when he appeared in front of her.

"You're too worked up." Lyon pointed out the obvious before shoving his hand towards her face. The youngest Sinclost gasped a little and leaned her head away to avoid his attack.

She got nicked on the cheek. Just as he was about to lift his leg to kick her, Gray sent the same walls of ice between them to make Lyon get away from her. The older man jumped away from her and his boots scratched the floor as he stopped. The walls of ice went even further to scare off the followers that were chanting earlier so it left the three of them on top of the temple. Her ice halberd shattered when it got caught in Gray's barrage of walls.

Karissa watched in disbelief as Gray marched over to her and grabbed her arm firmly to pull her away and move her closer to the edge without sparing her a look. He took her place in front of Lyon. Karissa blinked dumbly.

"What are you doing…?"

"He's right. You're too worked up right now. Go find Natsu and bring him back to the village. Keep him away from here."

"But—"

"Karissa. Leave. I'm dealing with this." Her friend stated firmly and he didn't leave any room for discussion as he glared at Lyon.

The black haired girl felt the tension leave her body. She somehow felt relieved when he said that. Her arms dropped to her sides and she gazed at Gray's back. Even if she hated to admit it, she was grateful that Gray was stepping in. She felt awful about that. But that feeling wasn't enough to stop her from tagging out and leaping off the temple and flying away with her wind magic.

I really… didn't want to be there.

Lyon was a bit concerned now that Karissa had left for the village. Unlike the cat and the celestial wizard, Karissa appeared more capable, especially considering how she had a great amount of magic power. She might conjure up something big enough to protect the village single-handedly.

But he had faith in his subordinates.

It was almost time. They couldn't afford to let him down at this crucial time.

Still…

Lyon scoffed at Gray. "Really? You switched out with the person who could actually stand a chance against me? Stupid move. Karissa and I were always better than you back then."

"Well things change. I'm a lot stronger than I used to be." Gray growled, irritated by Lyon's insistence on acting like the senior. "Besides, it's not her job to step in."

Karissa was usually quite reserved and shy when it was a regular environment but she became a fierce and skilled mage when it came to battle, a surprising sight for whoever just met her.

This time, however, she was lacking some of that fierceness. It was written all over her face. She was tense. It was the same look whenever Laxus was around: unsure, uneasy and unnerved.

She was unconsciously playing her role.

It was just undeniable proof that she cared for the older ice mage.

She couldn't fight like that.

Once Karissa landed on the earthy ground, she stared at it with a look of disbelief. She couldn't believe how she just obediently left like that.

"Pathetic." she berated herself and then used her wind magic to glide around to make the search for Natsu.

As she looked around the forest, she couldn't help but remember that one thing she thought of just moments before Lyon's identity was revealed.

"Go destroy the village." He commanded.

And he just said that without hesitation. Yeah, he clearly has no care for the lives of others. People like that always makes me fucking sick.

Karissa gritted her teeth as she grabbed a tree and with one hand to change her direction.

That boy she once knew who was always so cheerful and eager to learn magic. The boy who was friendly and sometimes affectionate was now someone who spoke of snuffing out lives like it wasn't an issue… It was such a drastic change for his personality.

The image of a cheerful Lyon was like mist being blown away by strong winds only to reveal something completely different.

When exactly did he start seeking Deliora? That question was now clouding her mind after she got a good look at his eyes.

It wasn't the same as Gray's but his eyes held the same type of narrow focus and obsession. He was obsessed with Deliora in a similar way that Gray sought revenge on it. An alarming sight.

But why…?

… what was it again…?

…

…

…

Karissa tipped her head. "That's your dream?"

Lyon grinned and plopped back on the bed while Gray and Karissa looked at him, sitting side by side while Ur was finishing up downstairs.

"Yeah! She's the strongest wizard alive so I want to be better than she is one day!"

"Seems far fetched." Gray huffed.

Lyon shot up in a sitting position. "I can make it happen! I'll do my best and give it all I got!" he said quickly to shoot down Gray's opinion. "I'll be better than Ur." He grinned confidently.

"I think it's nice that you already have a dream." Karissa spoke up with a small smile. "I don't really have something strong that drove me to learn magic with Ur… so I think it's cool that you have a dream like that. I hope you can do it, Lyon."

This made the older boy smiled widely. "Just watch me."

Karissa stopped her magic and landed on the ground while almost tripping over her feet. It was his dream. It had to be his dream to surpass Ur that was driving him this far. He often to spoke to her about it that she knew how much that dream meant to him.

Lyon was so dead set on becoming a mage better than Ur when they were young. However, that dream became impossible once Ur sacrificed herself to save Lyon and Gray from being killed by Deliora.

Minutes ago, he just told her that what he wanted had never changed. He would never say that to her unless she was aware of what he wanted by reviving a demon of destruction.

Ur sacrificed herself and became the ice sealing away Deliora.

Lyon wanted to surpass Ur.

The question now was: how was bringing Deliora back going to help his dream? Ur could never revert back to normal. He could never hold a match with her.

No. He never mentioned that he was bringing back Ur. He specifically said he was reviving Deliora…

Karissa closed her eyes and breathed in. "… It's not mass murder he's after… Deliora wouldn't just bend to his will… He said he wasn't fond of blood…"

Then it became clear.

The ice mage's eyes shot open. "He wants to kill it…? Because Ur couldn't?"

That would literally be the only reason why he wants to revive it if he still wants to surpass Ur.

"My god he's a fucking idiot." Karissa groaned and dropped her face in her hands. "Thinking selfishly about himself and not others…"

In the quiet forest, she suddenly heard a yelp echoing from her right. It sounded like Natsu. Right, she forgot about him. Where the hell was that idiot?

"Natsu!" Karissa shouted and flew towards his voice.

"Huh? Karissa?" he answered loudly.

She found him climbing up the temple while still trapped in Lyon's ice. He looked like a walking ice cube at this point. She stopped next to him and gave him a look. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I don't know where the village is so I thought climbing back up would help." he heaved as he put one foot forward. "By the way, don't think I forgot what you just did back there!" Natsu shouted with sparks of fire coming out of his mouth.

"Sorry." Karissa patted his head. "I didn't want you getting blown up by Lyon."

Natsu just scowled in response. "So that's his name. He got me with a cheap move!"

"Yeah, you ran into that cheap move!" Karissa shot back before sighing heavily.

"So… you and Gray know that Lyon guy?"

"… Yes. He was another student of our teacher. And I just figured out the reason why he wanted to revive Deliora." Karissa used her wind magic to save Natsu from falling back when he missed a step. Then she remembered that Natsu was still in danger with the state he was in. "Wait, don't move from here. Let me check if they're still up there."

Minutes had passed since she left Lyon to Gray so she didn't even know if they were still fighting up there or somehow ended up underground.

Or maybe Gray was down and defeated with no Lyon in sight— a possibility she never thought to consider until she saw it with her own eyes.

Karissa scrambled over to him in slight panic with a cry of his name after getting over her initial shock. He was flat on the ground on his stomach and he was battered.

"Hey?! What about me!" Natsu yelled. "You could at least help me—!" his voice died when he nearly fell backwards. He was almost there; he couldn't fall now.

Wavering between consciousness and unconsciousness, Gray forced himself to open his eyes and look in front of him. He saw the frantic look on his best friend's face and just blinked in confusion.

"… Why are you here? I thought… I told you go to back?"

Karissa bit her lip when she heard how weak and defeated he sounded. There was dried blood on his face and arms from his fight with Lyon. Their former classmate really gave him a beating. It most likely came the from the grudge he held against Gray.

If she didn't regret leaving him before then she greatly did now.

Gray's question wasn't given a response since they heard Natsu heaving when he finally made it up the temple. "Finally!"

"…Natsu? You too?"

Natsu waddled his way over and looked at Gray. "Lame… You're almost beaten to death." He looked around.

Gray groaned as he slowly got up on his knees. "Where's Lyon?" he asked while Karissa helped up on his feet.

"He's gone. There's no one left up here but you." Karissa answered him. He was standing but he was uneasy on his feet. As soon as he stumbled, Karissa reached out and caught him. He was going to need some help walking back.

"Village is that way. C'mon, let's go. Damn, it'll be our fault if they go after Lucy!" Natsu he led the way while Karissa supported Gray.

Aside from Natsu's grunting and yelping while going down the temple, it was quiet until Gray broke the silence.

"Natsu."

Karissa felt Gray's head move towards the pink haired wizard who just looked at him curiously. "Huh?"

"… I'm in no place to criticize you…" he sniffled. "No place at all…" he said in frustration. Karissa felt the way he started dragging his feet so it made her stop to look at him. He was crying. It made her frown.

"Gray…"

Natsu made an annoyed sound before shuffling to look at him while he faced the ground. "Quit feeling sorry for yourself just 'cause you lost!" he shouted. "We're members of Fairy Tail! The guild that doesn't know how to stop! The only way we can live is to keep running!" he finished with a huff.

The black haired girl just kept silent as she followed Natsu and helped Gray who later just passed out on the way, forcing her to carry him with her wind magic.

They were able to get back to the village.

For some reason, a pitfall trap was waiting for them at the gate and Natsu fell right in. Unamused, Karissa looked at the whole after stopping a few feet away with Gray levitating behind her.

"What the hell is this…?" Karissa scowled. She looked up and stared ahead where she found Lucy and Happy along with the rest of the villagers staring at her. "Whose idea was this?" Karissa asked slowly, almost darkly.

"Lucy's, obviously." Happy shrugged.

"I knew it!" Natsu yelled, annoyed.

"This is an S-Class quest." Karissa reminded after clicking her tongue while she walked around the trap with Gray. With a wave of her hand, she helped Natsu climb out with her wind magic. "A mere pitfall trap that barely covers the length of the gate is not going to stop Lyon from eradicating the village. If you forgot, there's an entire opening just above our heads."

Happy glanced at Lucy. "I think you made her mad."

"I-It was the only thing I could think of!" Lucy defended with a shudder.

"Someone fill up this hole before someone innocent actually falls in and breaks their leg." Karissa sighed and gently set Gray down on the ground.

Karissa kept her gaze on Gray as she tried wracking her brain over the possible protection she could provide the village with. With her molding ice magic, she could go ahead and create a shell around that was dense enough to buy the villagers some type to escape somewhere or something. That was the only thing she could think of right now.

Suddenly, there was a weird buzzing sound in the air. Karissa blinked. A villager pointed out something strange in the sky.

It was the rat they saw in the forest earlier. It was carrying a large bucket as it flew above the village.

"Welp, gotta kill the rat." Karissa dragged her foot back and put her fist in her palm.

"You're going to attack it from here?!" Lucy gaped. "What if it lands on us?!"

"Better than now than let it do whatever it… wants…" She barely noticed a small drop of green falling down from where the rat was. It was falling in Lucy's direction until Natsu grabbed her out of the way. Karissa's eyes went wide. On the spot where Lucy was standing a mere second ago was now a hole in the ground. It had disintegrated the ground.

"What is that?!" Natsu moved off Lucy. "It smells like trouble!"

The villagers began to panic now that they understood the danger they were in. The rat had a bucket full of that green jelly. There wasn't any time to think about a plan because the rat swung the bucket across, and the green jelly began to fall onto the village.

Natsu ran ahead to the center. "Everyone! Get in the center of the village!" he ordered before flying up the air with Happy's help.

Karissa used her wind magic to pull the far away villagers closer to the center while the others did their part. Everyone watched as Natsu created a giant fireball and threw it towards the jelly. Instantly, the jelly exploded and dispersed everywhere, destroying everything in the village aside from the center. By the time it was over, steam was rising and evaporating in the air.

However, this moment of relief didn't last since Yuka, Toby and Sherry presented themselves in front of them.

"Reitei-sama's enemies must all be expelled. We were trying to show some mercy by making your deaths quick… but it seems there's going to be much bloodshed after all." Sherry sighed with a hand on her hip. "A shame, really."

Karissa stepped forward and immediately had wind swirling around her hands after hearing that threat. "Oh? Lyon's orders are absolute enough for you to take the lives of innocent people?" she casted a protective wind wall behind her to block her enemies from getting past her.

Sherry narrowed her eyes. "He is Reitei-sama. You should properly address him as such."

"Your Reitei-sama can go ahead and eat shit and die." Karissa said darkly, she almost didn't recognize herself when she said that. Her teammates were telling the villagers to evacuate while Karissa was trying to keep them busy.

Sherry twitched. "How dare you—!" Karissa zoomed towards her and appeared behind her in an instant. The pink haired girl gasped when she caught a glimpse of the Fairy Tail mage behind her shoulder.

"Sherry!" Yuka and Toby readied themselves to attack. However, Karissa swiveled around to avoid their attacks so she could properly shove her fist in her gut. The pink haired girl nearly double over while Kairssa just stepped a few feet to laugh mockingly.

"Loosing your cool from such a simple insult. You suck up to him, you must be a creepy admirer." Karissa looked over her shoulder and saw that the villagers were getting away while Natsu, Lucy and Happy remained behind.

With tears in her eyes and a furious expression, Sherry yelled, "Don't mock my love for Reitei-sama!"

"Calm down!" Yuka tried telling her while Toby whined like a dog.

"There's no escaping!" The next thing they knew, Sherry had summoned back her pet rat and jumped on its back. She was going after the villagers. As she flew past them, Lucy, who apparently got too excited, accidentally grabbed onto Angelica's foot, leaving Happy, Natsu and Karissa dumbfounded.

Happy sweat dropped. "Yep, she's stupid."

Natsu stared at the flying rat, "More like insane!"

"I'll help her out…" Karissa sighed. She turned around and used her ice magic. "Ice Make: Frozen Star Assault!" She created a bow and arrow made of ice. The tip of the arrow was a circular spike. She shot it towards the rat and she watched the orb stretched into a star shape before it exploded into a number of arrows. It pierced the rat and immediately made it stop flying, making it crash to the ground somewhere on the island.

Yuka sighed while Toby started barking nonsense.

"That was dangerous… what if Lucy got crushed?" Natsu wondered.

"I have a feeling she's still alive." Karissa shrugged.

Happy took out his wings and decided to go check on her.

…

…

…

"Let me help you."

Natsu and Karissa's heads perked up at the sound of Gray's voice. He was wobbly on his feet behind them. It was obvious to them that he was in no shape no continue fighting for the rest of the day.

Karissa looked at him worriedly while Natsu just stared at his opponents.

"You get out. We don't need you here."

Gray was panting. He must have woken up and ran back while the villagers were transporting him away from the fighting.

"Natsu… Don't mock—" his words died when Natsu walked over to him and rammed his fist into his gut. Gray weakly gripped the arm that punched him while he struggled to stay on his feet.

"Just lie down and rest." The fire mage simply said and ignored the weak death threat Gray threw at him. He held up his body once he fell limp and went back into the realm of unconsciousness. Karissa hurried over to them and offered to bring Gray back to where the villagers were and keep an eye out for them just in case there were more of Lyon's lackeys coming down from the temple. They couldn't just leave the villagers unguarded.

"You going to be okay on your own?" Karissa wondered when she held up Gray's body with her wind magic.

Natsu just smirked and waved his hand dismissively. "Of course! I'll take care of business here without a problem! You just get that idiot somewhere where he won't get in the way."

"Mmkay. I'll see you later then." She patted Natsu's shoulder and started walking.

She walked while holding onto Gray's wrist to make sure he was by her side while she escorted him back. She didn't want someone running up to her from behind and grabbing him hostage while he was unconscious.

The black haired girl looked at him and stared at his face.

This S-Class quest is probably the worst job we've ever been on. It's even worse for Gray since he's lost people because of that demon.

We're forced to face a past that we thought we've moved on from.

She gently stroked his wrist with her thumb as if to console him or something while in actuality she was doing it for herself.

She just wanted this job to be over with.

Maybe this could just be all a bad dream we'll wake up from.

...

...

...

"Reitei-sama."

Lyon shifted his head a little when he heard his alias. He was underground looking up at Deliora while the his group and Fairy Tail's were clashing above ground.

"Why did you not kill that boy named Gray?" a man with a mask asked curiously.

Reitei crossed his arms. "No particular reason. You know I dislike blood." he answered simply.

The masked man chuckled a little. "No, no. You say that yet you are exterminating the villagers. It would seem that you have sentiments for your fellow pupil."

Reitei scoffed and lowered his head to shake it. "Nonsense." He looked up at the demon encased in ice. "After such a crushing defeat as a warning, he won't oppose me again. Still, if he does attempt to interfere, then I won't hesitate to kill him."

"Oh?" Zalty tipped his head, "And what about the other one named Karissa?"

Upon hearing her name, Reitei blinked and looked shifted his eyes somewhere else. "I'll deal with her myself." He said simply after a brief pause. "I'm certain she'll come for me. I wouldn't expect anything less. It would be better for me to stop her before she becomes a problem."

"Deal with her yourself? I may be wrong but you could have done so earlier when you closed in on her when you fought her earlier."

Reitei sighed heavily and glanced over his shoulder. "You're talking too much, Zalty. Don't you have preparations to take care of?"

Zalty just chortled behind his mask. "Apologies, Reitei-sama. I will be going now." He said before walking down a tunnel with some of the followers following closely behind.

Lyon listened to Zalty and the followers' footsteps receding until they were completely unheard. The older pupil closed his eyes and breathed through his nose and looked back up at Deliora.

He was so close. It was only a matter of time now.

You should understand more than anyone how much this means to me.

Chapter Text

After she found where the villagers were staying, she allowed them to take Gray off her hands in order to tend to his wounds. Karissa took that opportunity to put a protective barrier of wind around the area to protect the villagers. If anyone tried breaking through then she would know.

When one of the villagers noticed that she kept peeking inside different tents to try and find Gray, they went to bring her to the tent where he was staying in. Her timidity had kicked in and she was too shy to ask around when they were busy setting up things. She found a woman inside putting away some things in a box.

When the villager heard her, she jumped and whirled around. Karissa stared at her silently before talking. "I… I just wanted to check on him…"

"Oh no, it's fine! I just finished tending to his wounds. All he needs is rest." The woman smiled at her. She picked up a small bag from a box and excused herself after the female ice wizard thanked her quietly.

She sat down on the ground against a wooden box and just stared at Gray. His dark shirt was folded nicely on the side. He had bandages wrapped around his torso and shoulder along with a small bandage on his forehead.

I wonder when he'll wake up though.

Her hand scrubbed the back of her head.

Lucy's off fighting Sherry while Natsu is busy with Toby and Yuka. We'll have to wait for everyone to regroup so we can figure out what to do next.

Karissa sighed heavily as she tipped her head back against the box. The protection of the villagers was a major priority alongside stopping Deliora's resurrection. Her eyes narrowed a little. Right. She also forgot to tell Natsu and the others about Lyon's intention. She should have told Natsu before she left. That was a mistake.

"Ngh…"

Karissa blinked and straightened her head to look at Gray. He was knitting his brows in his sleep. Quietly, she shuffled closer so that she was sitting criss cross near his head.

It didn't look like he was ready to wake up.

Yeah, it'll probably take a while…

Karissa refused to sleep even after seeing a sign of the new dawn. She could see the skies getting a tad bit brighter through a small gap in the tent.

Her goal right now was to wait with the village people and keep an eye out for any danger. The wind around the area had been acting as her third eye for a while now but she didn't detect anything unusual. If Lyon's subordinates were as loyal as the other three, then they must have realized that they failed to eradicate to village along with its people in one shot. Surely, they would rectify this problem once they noticed their lack of results.

Karissa stared blankly at Gray while she kept thinking.

Maybe he doesn't have anymore subordinates that are as strong as the three.

Slowly, she reached for the spare bandages at Gray's side.

And I don't hear any of Natsu's destruction right now… that must mean his battle is over or that he's having a problem.

She shifted on her knees.

If no one's showing up now then that has to be because there isn't anyone else.

The roll of bandages was tucked away into her pocket.

Yeah, instead of just sitting around and doing nothing she should be doing something else.

You take out the chain of command and everything falls apart.

That's Lyon.

"Hopefully by then, everything will just be a nightmare for you."

Her words were carried away by the breeze after she exited the tent.

…

…

…

After vanishing from the village, she made her way back to the temple and searched for Lyon. Surprisingly, the halls of the temple were empty, there were no guards. If anything, that just showed how arrogant Lyon was. He was confident enough in his own abilities that he had no need for such high security. Or perhaps the guards were out guarding around the temple and she just happened to slip past them? Oh well, it didn't really matter.

After she remembered her rattle state the previous night, she made sure to keep her cool and remind herself to not act too rashly.

Eventually, she found herself walking down a hall after hearing some voices echo. It sounded like there were two, one definitely belonged to Lyon. Her brain had already registered the sound of his voice, overwriting his previous pubescent voice with his new deeper one.

She didn't hide her presence.

They must have noticed it since their talking had ceased completely. The only thing resonating in the eerily quiet temple was the sound of her footsteps.

Finally, Karissa appeared before Lyon and casually waltzed into the throne room while staring at the people inside. A guy in a mask, and Lyon. Her old friend was not wearing his helmet this time.

The guy in the mask laughed as he watched her. "To think you had the courage to walk right into enemy territory."

"Nothing really screams enemy territory when the temple is literally a ghost town." Karissa replied without missing a beat. Then she glared at the strange person in the room. "Now, get out before I fucking freeze this entire room and you with it. I have no business with some masked midget."

Her voice betrayed her cool expression since she sounded irritated.

"Oh?" The guy in the mask turned to her. "How confident."

"Zalty." Lyon interjected as he pushed himself up to his feet. "Leave. I'll be dealing with her."

Zalty paused and stared at Lyon as he walked towards Karissa. Then he waved his hand dismissively. "Ah. Of course, right. As you wish then." He bowed his head briefly.

Karissa watched as the smaller person looked at her and he grinned at her mysteriously while running off somewhere. The sound of his footsteps was receding. To make sure he wouldn't step foot into the throne room again so easily, Karissa froze the only entrance with her ice magic and then looked at Lyon.

He watched her with a hardened state.

She held her hands up, "I'm not attacking you." was all she said

The distance between them was comfortable enough for her to be ready for any incoming attacks that he might suddenly throw at her.

"You know, I've heard things about you when I came to this kingdom." Lyon broke the still silence. "You and your siblings are children of two famous wizards who are no longer of this world. That's quite the reputation. It must explain why you have such an abnormal amount of magic power."

"Lyon, this is not about me." Karissa reminded him. "I'm here to talk about you're plan. Why are you being so selfish?"

"Excuse me?" Lyon narrowed his eyes, offended.

She wanted to try and shove all the facts and realities into his face and try to break his resolve if she could. Persuasion was never something she practiced since people could be quite hard headed. But this person was different. She wanted to try at least.

She walked to the side and kept watching him while he walked the other way warily. "Just listen to me before you get angry. Use your damn head." She poked her temple harshly. "You're like Gray when he was eight. He was obsessed with Deliora for the sake of revenge, he lost sight of what he currently had and that resulted in him losing Ur." She summarized before pointing at Lyon briefly. "Now. You're obsessed with Deliora for the sake of your dream? You're blind to what destruction you're about to cause in this kingdom!"

"Unlike Gray, I don't plan on foolishly charging at a demon with lack of skill and experience like a fool." He clarified firmly. "I have knowledge, experience and skill. I'm more than capable of taking on a demon that Ur couldn't! So, don't you dare compare me to that guy. I'm the only mage capable of taking down Deliora."

Karissa held her tongue before she could spout something rude that had no thought behind it. "Fine, but are you ready to cause a tragedy for the sake of your dream if you die."

"I won't fail—"

"You don't know that!" Karissa cut him off and stopped walking. "You've seen what's it done haven't you?! Don't tell me you had your eyes closed when you and Ur looked for Gray in Brago. Just across the water is an innocent town with people living happily with their families. If you fail to kill this demon, you're going to put those people through hell! Have you ever thought of that?!"

Lyon inhaled and looked at her with disinterest. "They have nothing to fear. No tragedy will come to the people of Hargeon because I will kill Deliora once it revives." He told her without a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Lyon!" Karissa shouted and walked towards him. He raised his hand as a warning but she never stopped walking. She grabbed the sides of his cape and looked up at him. His eyebrows rose slightly at her sudden approach. He wasn't expecting it. But he didn't push her away.

"You're not listening! What you just said just proves you never gave it any thought! I would have been more satisfied with an answer that gave away that you had at least some form of backup plan that would keep people out of harm's way! You're too confident about this!" she gripped his cape tighter. "You have to remember that the world doesn't just revolve around you!"

"I wouldn't be standing here confidently if I doubted myself." He looked at her apathetically before lifting his hands. "If you doubt yourself, you won't be confident in your abilities. Ur taught us that, remember?" he held her wrists and did not hurt her.

Karissa's eyes widened. He truly believed in his strength to defeat Deliora. But didn't he know that it was immortal?

As long as she didn't do the first move, Lyon would not harm her. She posed no threat so far since she chose to speak to him instead of using violence. Naïve but not unexpected. If she wanted to talk then he could entertain her.

Inwardly, he could admit to himself that Gray's treatment was not reserved for Karissa. The other student got what he deserved since Lyon didn't take his chance to do it before. It was pent up frustration that lasted for ten years.

Lyon could understand where Karissa was coming from though. She personally witnessed Deliora's destruction and miraculously ended up being a survivor. He remembered the day he helped her out of the rubble. She looked like a mess after surviving hell. However, she wasn't the only person on this island who was well acquainted with Deliora's destruction rampage.

"I get it, you're afraid." Lyon spoke. "I don't blame you. It's only natural for you to fear Deliora after what it did to your hometown. I have followers who fear the demon as well, and they want it dead. They follow my dream since I will be doing them a favor."

"What…?"

When he felt the strength in her hands loosen, he gently pried her hands off him and stared at her coolly. "So, you have nothing to fear, I will, without fail, defeat Deliora once the ice melts." He reassured her. "And my dream will finally be a reality." He smiled a little.

He was really so close to his dream. The excitement was growing with every hour.

"Lyon, please." She held his arm like a lost child as she pleaded. Her mind was trying to figure out how else she could get through to him.

But she couldn't think of anything yet.

"If you want to blame someone then blame Gray. He's the reason this is happening in the first place. He challenged Deliora and got our master turned into ice." He hissed as his eyes narrowed.

The way he said Gray's name was filled with revolt.

He's really angry at Gray.

"I respect that you're willing to fulfill an ambition that should have been long abandoned by now, but you can't keep chasing after Ur's ghost!"

Lyon ripped his arm away from her and stepped a several feet away. "I cannot fathom why you still want to stop me when you know full well how much my dream means to me!" he raised his voice and it made her almost shrink back. "You even encouraged me!"

The days where Lyon cheerfully talked about surpassing Ur appeared in brief flashes in her mind.

"Of course, I know! I really understand, I do! But this isn't right, and you should know that too!" it was her turn to raise her voice. "Ur would never accept this kind of path of yours!"

"It's too bad she isn't here to tell us that, right?" he said and clenched his fist. "And I will never forgive Gray for that." His ice magic swirled around his hand from his inner anger.

"I couldn't forgive him either but still I did, but that doesn't mean it excuses him from what he did to us! In the end, it's pointless to hold a grudge because it keeps you from moving on in life. Ur told us that, remember?! And that also applies to hanging on to a dream that should have been long gone!"

How long have you been doing this? Have you even lived?

Lyon gritted his teeth as his irritation continued to grow. "Enough!"

Karissa backed away with a sharp breath. It was no use. Reason and logic weren't enough to convince Lyon to back down. He already had his counterarguments that made him more arrogant.

Truly, the only way to stop Lyon was by force.

It was unfortunate that it had to be so. She really had no desire to fight him when he was so lost in his own dream. But…

"And you're still using one hand… you can't be confident in defeating Deliora like that!" she put her hand in her palm. "Wake up and stop dreaming this dream!"

He raised his hand and prepared to use a spell.

Gray looked over his shoulder when he heard Lucy call his name. To his surprise, he found Erza walking after him with Lucy and Happy trailing behind.

Earlier, he had woken up and found Erza waiting for him in a tent with Lucy tied up next to her. She came to the island to bring him back to the guild under their Master's orders. But he was having none of it. He needed to stop Lyon and Deliora's resurrection. This job was too personal to abandon now.

"Erza, I told you, I'm not going back until I finish this job."

The scarlet haired woman hardened her brown eyes. "I'm aware of that. We'll deal with this later once we've taken care of everything."

He arched a brow. That was a first. He didn't think Erza would lend a hand after she was adamant about staying and helping since they broke the rules. But at least no one was stopping them from going back now. The Master back at home wouldn't send anyone else since he trusted Erza to bring them back.

"What about Natsu and Karissa?" Happy wondered.

"Natsu probably doesn't know that the villagers sought refuge here…" Lucy sweat dropped. "I bet he's lost."

"But she and Natsu stayed back when you went to fight that girl." Happy informed.

"Karissa would have definitely found this place with her wind magic." Erza looked around.

Yeah. She wouldn't get lost.

Gray turned his head when he saw a villager pass by and he hurried over to them as he called them out. "Aside from me, was anyone else here before morning came?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. There was that one girl with black hair."

"She was here?"

The guy nodded and pointed at the tent in which Gray was previously staying in. "After she put up a wind barrier around the storage area, she went inside your tent and stayed in there until morning."

Gray knitted his brows. "I didn't see her…"

He looked around and noticed that there was no wind barrier. She wouldn't create a barrier like Erigor's to trap people inside if she was expecting Natsu and Lucy to find her.

"Erza, Lucy." Gray whirled around. "Was there a wind barrier when you guys arrived?"

Lucy tilted her head and then shook it. "There was nothing around the place."

"That means she left to confront Lyon. She was long gone by the time you guys came." Gray clicked his tongue and turned around to run out the village. The three Fairy Tail members were quick to follow after him.

"Wait, what does Karissa's wind barrier mean?!" the blonde celestial wizard asked they ran into the forest.

"Karissa sometimes uses her wind as a sixth sense to detect enemies. But since it's not there that means she chose to not to protect the village since there isn't anyone else that would harm them. And knowing her, she probably went after Lyon after she figured out what he's after."

"And what is he after exactly?" Erza spoke from behind him.

"He wants to defeat Deliora."

Lucy and Happy repeated this revelation in unison, completely surprised since it wasn't what they were expecting.

He explained it to them. Lyon's ambition. If he wanted to keep his chasing his dream of surpassing Ur, then Lyon had to defeat Deliora, the one thing Ur could not.

"But if Karissa went to confront Lyon, then maybe she already took him down?" Lucy said a brief pause, "She's strong, right?"

"Yeah but this is different. She might have trouble fighting him since she cares about him."

"That certainly can change things." Erza agreed. "She would want to save him then."

Happy blinked several times. "But doesn't she understand that Lyon is the enemy? I don't get it."

"It's a bit complicated." Gray sighed heavily. "Those two used to like each other so that might be holding her back too. I'm not sure."

Lucy gasped a little at that historic detail. She certainly wasn't expecting to hear something like that. Judging by the reactions Gray and Karissa had the previous night when they saw Lyon, it was safe to say that the three had been reunited after a long while.

Lucy didn't really have the chance to get to know Karissa just yet since the ice wizard was quite shy, she chose to keep her a reasonable distance from the celestial mage since she didn't warm up to her yet. Mirajane had told her so when she wondered about it. However, despite her introverted nature, she saw how she cared for those who were close to her.

During the Lullaby incident, Karissa offered her own magic power in exchange for Erza's because she was worried about the older mage.

Karissa chose to sit next to Gray as they waited for the moon to show since she knew he was tense.

She stayed with him in his tent for a while because she was concerned for him.

Levy had told her that Gray was her friend way before they joined Fairy Tail. The two cared a great deal for each other due to their history. If Lyon was an old friend like Gray, she was guessing that she cared for Lyon in the same way.

No matter how much time passed, there will always be lingering feelings of the past that will always make a person care for another whether they liked it or not.

"Karissa always used to stop Lyon and I when we argued as kids. She probably doesn't even realize it herself, but she's acting like she's the mediator again. She wants us to stop fighting each other so she went off on her own. She just wants to finish things quickly."

She made that clear when she prevented Gray from helping her fight Lyon that night.

Just as Lyon was stuck in the past with his dream, Karissa was also thrown back in time the moment Gray and Lyon started fighting with each other. However, she needed to realize that those days were long gone. There wasn't any point of stopping Gray from facing Lyon. That fight was going to be inevitable.

Karissa would most definitely put up a good fight against Lyon but not if she wasn't fighting at a hundred percent.

It wasn't her job to act as the mediator of their fights anymore. Gray needed to take responsibility and end things himself.

All of a sudden, they felt the earth shake.

…

…

…

The throne room was cold.

Karissa panted as she watched Lyon. He was breathing heavily too. They were fighting each other again, and they were evenly matched.

The following second, the floor broke as someone punched their way above.

Lyon and Karissa held up their arm up to their face when rubble from the floor flew in their direction. Their vision was clouded from the smoke.

While stepping back, Karissa land harshly on her butt after tripping over her own feet. She winced and moved to get back up until she caught a glimpse of a familiar scaly white scarf. Her mouth slightly fell open. She saw the familiar pink hair of the person standing in front of her.

"Natsu…?"

Her pink haired friend perked up and looked behind his shoulder to grin at her. "Hey, Karissa. What's up?" he held up a hand to casual greet her. "Man, are you seriously having trouble with this guy too?" he put his hands on his hips.

"What's up… what, what did you do? Did you tilt the temple?!"

"Yep! That way," Natsu turned his head to look at Lyon. "The moon won't shine down on that demon underground."

Karissa blinked in disbelief.

Right.

Only a guy like Natsu would think of something so drastic.

She chuckled hollowly and shook her head. "Good old Natsu." She looked at Lyon with relief. "Now you won't have the chance to defeat Deliora."

There was no way he could fix the temple back to the way it was.

Natsu arched a brow. "Defeat Deliora?"

Lyon's face darkened angrily as he clenched his fists. "How dare you…"

All of a sudden, Lyon began freezing parts of the throne room. A clear sign that he was very displeased with Natsu's interference. Then, fire and ice began to clash.

She hated to admit it to herself but she knew that it was better for Natsu to tag in. She was aware of her hesitation to fight Lyon at a hundred percent. The reason for that was because she was also concerned over Lyon's own feelings towards his dream. She didn't want to heartlessly trample on it. She wanted to save him.

Natsu's willingness to fight Lyon with everything he got brought her peace of mind.

She watched both wizards duke it out. Natsu was asking Lyon why he couldn't simply fight Ur after he revealed that he wanted to surpass her, and Lyon answered with the obvious answer: she was dead. And again, Lyon rightfully blamed Gray for it.

"I'll find the remaining followers and take them out just in case they have another way to do the moon drip ceremony." Karissa said while getting up to her feet. She couldn't sit still when she wasn't a absolutely sure that they stopped Lyon's followers.

Lyon gritted his teeth when he saw his former classmate run towards a wall to break her way through. "Karissa!" he yelled her name as a warning and pointed two fingers at her. However, the pink haired fire wizard zoomed in front of him with a dark look.

"I don't think so." Natsu reeled back his fistful of fire before swinging at him. The older wizard leaped away from the haphazard magic.

The temple has tilted. We need to stop all of his followers before they initiate some sort of backup plan!

If they were able to move the ceilings to create a circular opening for the moonlight, they might be able to the same despite the current state of the temple.

Just as she was about to bust a hole through the ice wall, cracks began to form on the wall after she heard a thud on the other side. She skidded to a stop and stared warily as the cracks had spread out after another hit piece of the wall crumbled away. Her eyes widened at the sight of Gray in front of her.

Her friend's face relaxed when he saw that she was alright. "So you were here." Gray breathed through his nose as he walked into the throne room. "Running off recklessly... What are you, Natsu?"

"Gray!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Are you sure you should be walking…?" Karissa wondered as he walked past her.

"I'm fine, but anyway, you two just leave this to me."

Natsu scoffed and gave Gray a look. "Seriously? He already beat you once before!"

"He won't beat me a second time. This will be the end of it."

"What… do you have some plan?" Karissa mumbled her question.

Lyon sneered at him. "You're rather confident of yourself."

Gray swallowed and looked at the side for a moment. "Ur died ten years ago because of me. But I can't let you get away with hurting my comrades, harming the village," Gray gave Lyon a determined look. "and trying to melt that ice. We'll both undergo this punishment."

Gray got into a stance that Karissa wasn't quite familiar with. She had never seen someone in this stance before. It must be some type of ice magic since ice was the only magic Gray would excel at. His arms were forming an 'X' sign, with his right arm above his left. Even if she didn't know what it was, she somehow knew that somewhere in the back of her mind she had knowledge of it. She just couldn't recall it. She was confident that it was something she read about once before.

Then, to answer the question in her mind, Lyon identified the spell: Iced Shell.

"Have you gone mad?!" Lyon stepped back.

"Gray! What are you doing, stop that!" Karissa shouted.

Gray ignored her and demanded that Lyon leave the village and return the villagers to their original form right this instant. He was threatening Lyon. At least, that was what she was starting to believe until she felt a surge of magical power emanating from Gray.

"I see." Lyon smirked confidently and almost with snide as he stood his ground. "So you're using that spell as bluff. What nonsense."

After he said that, Gray's magical power continued to grow to the point where wind and ice revolved around him rapidly.

This idiot is serious!

She could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

"Gray! Stop it!"

"You…!"

Both Lyon and Karissa tried to stop him with magic but they ended up getting knocked back from the force of his magic. Her back collided against the ice wall behind her, she winced when she slumped to the floor.

"The fact that Ur died because of me will never change, no matter how much time passes. I have to take responsibility for it at some point. I'm going to do it here. I've been prepared to die… for the last ten years!"

"You're both fucking idiots…" Karissa growled under her breath and quickly stood up against the force of magic.

"Are you serious?!"

"Answer me, Lyon!"

Karissa started running.

"Will we both die, or will we both live?!" Gray glared at Lyon.

Lyon didn't move an inch from his spot, "Do it. You don't have the courage to die."

The two former classmates were too preoccupied with their own conversation that they didn't realize the other pupil was running towards them. She forced herself to run against the magic trying to slow her down. She needed hurry. It was only when she got a few feet closer that they noticed her running towards the elder pupil. She grabbed onto him and hugged him tightly in her arms.

Lyon stiffened in her hold.

Gray's flinched and his eyes widened.

Karissa glared at her friend.

"You fool, what are you doing?!" Lyon tried to break his arms free from her hold but she firmly locked him in place.

"Freeze Lyon and you freeze me with him!" Karissa warned her fellow guild member.

"Don't be ridiculous! Move!" Gray yelled at her but she didn't even blink.

"Stop that spell and I'll move!"

"Karissa! I can't let him melt Ur!"

"I don't think Ur saved you both so that you two could up frozen!" she shot back angrily.

"Back off, idiot!" Natsu suddenly punched Gray in the face once he got close enough, ceasing Gray's Iced Shell spell instantly. The wind and the ice disappeared along with the spell. Lyon and Karissa watched in bewilderment as the two started bickering. They were arguing about who should be facing Lyon.

"… You have quite the comrade."

"Tell me about it." said Karissa as she released Lyon.

All of a sudden, Gray grabbed a fistful of Natsu's scarf and glared at him. "I have to put this thing between Lyon and I to an end! Even if it means I have to die to do it!"

Karissa and Natsu were both fed up with Gray's talk about sacrificing himself. The pink haired mage clutched Gray's wrist tightly and look at him with a dark serious look.

"So you're gonna end this thing by dying, huh? Stop running away." He spat.

All of a sudden, the room began to rumble and tilt. Karissa was on her way to help Natsu knock some sense into Gray when it started moving. She lost equilibrium for a moment there. The room began to tilt until it was finally back to the same level back when she first arrived in the throne room. Once the temple finally settled, the small man from earlier hopped into the room with a bounce in his step.

"Sorry to interrupt." He grinned when he went over to Lyon.

"Zalty. You did this?" Lyon arched a brow.

"The moon will be out soon, so I took the liberty of returning things to normal."

"What?!" Karissa gaped. "It's already this late?"

"W-Who is he?" Gray asked.

"I don't know but maybe he used some type of restoration magic to fix the temple?"

Natsu groaned. "Seriously? And after all the hard work I did to tilt it… HEY! How did you put it back to normal?!"

The only response he got was a laugh in the face which only serve to tick him off.

Natsu bolted after the guy who decided to commence the moon drip ceremony again, and he entrusted the task of defeating Lyon to Gray.

Natsu will deal with that guy.

Absolutely none of the followers should be at the top of the temple because that's where the ritual takes place.

But…

"I'll stop Lyon here. Don't worry about me. Just make sure the ritual is stopped." He told her with his back facing her. It wasn't reassuring her at all. Just a moment ago, Gray was ready to throw away his life. She didn't want to make the mistake of leaving him to do it again.

And she certainly didn't want Lyon to be frozen in ice either.

… I don't want to leave these two alone…

Karissa frowned deeply. "… How can I trust you after what you did? I can't leave you here with Lyon if it means you're going to throw your life the moment I turn my back."

The dark haired wizard looked over his shoulder and saw her staring at him from behind. She had every right to be worried.

If Lyon was just going to stand there and take it, then Gray figured that he must have some ace up his sleeve. He had a feeling that things wouldn't end if he just sealed him away.

And Natsu was right.

He was running away.

Gray turned around and walked over to her while she simply stared at him without saying anything. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her in the eye.

"Trust in me."

He noticed the fresh red cut on the patch of skin between her neck and collarbone. His eyebrow twitched.

"Stopping our fight is not your responsibility anymore. Don't burden yourself needlessly with it, alright?"

Was it really okay?

Gray felt the tension in her shoulders ease.

She felt torn between trying to save Lyon and trying to ease Gray's troubles by ceasing Deliora's resurrection. Somewhere in her heart, she felt guilty for not being able be with Ur and Lyon that day when Gray decided to go after Deliora in the blizzardy night. Maybe if she was, things would have been different today where the three of them would be standing on the same side.

But that's impossible.

She put a hand on one of his on her shoulder as a sign of her trust. He gave her a small smile to thank her.

She had to let go.

Karissa felt Gray's large hand ruffle her hair.

Lyon needed to be left with Gray to deal with. There was no avoiding it anymore.

…

…

…

Karissa broke a wall and flew out of the temple and saw that it was very much night time now. The moon would be showing itself soon. She backed away to take a good look at temple and was relieved to see that there was no purple light above the temple. That meant that the followers were up there just yet.

"Karissa!" a familiar voice shouted from below.

The youngest Sinclost looked down and found Lucy, Erza and Happy fighting Lyon's followers. The celestial wizard was the one who called her.

Wait… when did Erza get here?

And…

Karissa's eyes narrowed.

Lucy had a look of relief when she saw Karissa flying towards them. After what Gray told them, she was a bit worried that Karissa might have gotten hurt due to her personal feelings. When she got closer, she could see that the ice wizard was somewhat in good shape, she had a few injuries but it wasn't anything serious.

Karissa created an ice sword and rushed faster towards Lucy.

The blonde blinked, "E-Eh?! Wait a minute—!" she freaked when she saw her preparing to swing the sword the moment she got close. What the hell did she do to piss her off?!

Karissa flew past Lucy, who screamed, and landed on the ground before swinging down her ice sword.

"Lucy, don't let your guard down." Karissa warned her and attacked more of the followers.

The blonde wizard realized what just happened and sighed in relief. "Sorry, I was just glad to see you were okay."

"Hm, thanks…"

"Let's hurry up and finish them off." Erza ordered as she swung twin swords.

When the fight was over, the girls and the flying cat decided to head to the temple. Karissa's worries were decreasing now that the followers weren't able to stand. Without them, they wouldn't be able to do the ritual.

"Wait!" one of them called out, it was an old woman with a strange headband, "we won't let out interfere with Reitei-sama!" She said while being held up by a young man.

Erza seemed to have recognized the headpieces they both wore. "You people are from the City of Brago, and you want revenge."

Brago?

So they were there when Ur used Iced Shell.

"You're just like him." Karissa spoke after a brief silence, "Selfish for your own desires to the point of not thinking of others. The world does not revolve around you."

The old lady grimaced, "You… You don't know anything!" she suddenly yelled, furious. "You didn't have to watch as your home was destroyed, as your loved ones died in that destruction. That… That demon deserves to die!"

Karissa chuckled hollowly and stared at the woman. "Don't know anything, huh?"

…

…

…

Silver appeared around the corner and wordlessly went to grab Gray and Karissa, making them yelp in confusion and surprise. Karissa was under his arm while Gray was being carried on his shoulder.

"Dad, what's happening?"

"Mister Silver?"

…

…

…

Gray and Karissa were witnessing the destruction around them. There was smoke and fire everywhere. Everyone was screaming. People were crying over bodies that no longer moved. There was blood.

It was nothing like a few hours ago.

It was a nightmare.

Karissa practically shook like a leaf in Silver's arm. "Wh-What's happening?!"

Gray's eyes widened when he saw a large figure behind them.

"Mom… dad…! What is that?"

It was looking around as if admiring its work. It was obvious that the cause of this mass destruction was that thing standing over there. Gray tensed when he saw it raise its head to let out another terrifying roar, causing Karissa to her head around to try and see where it was coming from. Suddenly, a beam of light came from the monster's mouth. The beam flew right past them. The next second, the ground practically exploded with fire. The buildings around them were destroyed in an instant.

…

…

…

"I know full well what kind of horror that monster is capable of." Karissa smiled sadly. "I'm also a survivor from one of Deliora's attacks, one that occurred before it travelled to Brago. It ravaged Isvan at night while I was sleeping. I can still remember the bodies of men, woman and children lying on the floor… the blood… the fire, and everything else. I've seen it all while running away. It even killed two people I considered to be my parents for a time."

They have no right.

"You are willing to risk the lives of the people in the western continent for the sake of revenge? You're going to let children who were like me see such horror? You want them to go through the same misery as we all did?" she clenched her fists tightly and then relaxed. "You have no right… no right at all to risk the lives of people for your selfish wish!"

Her guild members were shocked. Erza and Happy especially. Karissa was usually the quieter person in a group and it rare for her to speak her mind like this. She usually held her tongue and spoke out of earshot since she usually got so nervous.

The people around them faltered for a moment.

…

…

Then, all of a sudden, a familiar loud earsplitting roar erupted from the temple.

Everyone covered their ears, Lucy and Happy complained at the loud noise.

Karissa's eyes widened in horror. The hair on her neck was standing up.

No matter how many years had passed, she would never forget that sound. That awful sound that once woke up her from pleasant dream and made her live a nightmare.

"Is that…?" Erza looked at the temple.

"… He did it…" Karissa spoke. "Deliora is revived…"

Karissa completely ignored Erza and the others when she dashed off to the temple. She briefly used her wind magic to shorten the length until she remembered that conserving magic power was necessary in the current predicament. She was aware of how much she spent in the last few days. She didn't sleep at all and she didn't have enough time to completely recover what she had spent.

The ice wizard ran into the temple with familiarity guiding her.

…

…

…

"Ur is alive?"

"Yeah… she told me that she was still alive but as ice."

"… Really?"

…

…

…

Gray believed that she was still alive as ice.

Karissa was skeptical when he first told her that.

But now…

Ur!

Karissa leaped down the hole and made a beeline for the tunnel she first saw when she crashed underground. The monstrous roar of Deliora was louder than ever with each step she took.

When she arrived, she found Lyon, Gray and Natsu there. Seeing the roughened-up look Lyon carried as he crawled on the floor confirmed that Gray won the battle against him.

The black haired girl blinked in surprise when she saw Lyon struggling to stand. Was he serious?

"I'm… going to… surpass you now!"

"Oh my god, just sit down!" Karissa shouted at him and reached out to grab his shirt until she saw Gray walk around him and strike him behind his head, knocking him down.

Well, that's one way to do it.

"Enough, Lyon."

Quickly, she approached Gray and held one of his arms with both hands. She was relieved he was okay even though she saw that wound on his side. The relief that washed over her was replaced by anxiousness when she stared up at the demon that was getting familiar with moving its limbs again. It wasn't fully awake to start attacking this second but she was certain that it would make a move in the next minute or so.

"We should leave this place and help evacuate the island for now…" Karissa mumbled while lightly tugging on his arm. "We could regroup or something and figure out something in the meantime while this thing is still dazed."

She could force herself to get to Hargeon and evacuate the people there as well…

Time was ticking.

She female mage blinked when she felt Gray's larger hand slowly loosen her hand on his arm. She lifted her head to look at him and found his eyes staring right at her with strange look in his eyes. Now she was worried. He looked almost apologetic.

Him pulling her into his chest was the last thing she expected in this situation. She blinked several times in confusion.

"Gray?"

"I'm sorry."

"… For what?"

He pulled away a little to look at her, their foreheads almost touching, and she tried searching for an answer on his face, but he was hiding whatever she wanted to see.

Gray stared at the expression on her face. She was confused and worried about him for his unusual silence. His next move would ultimately cause her grief, he knew that even though he hated the thought of it, but he had no other option left if he wanted to protect those around him.

Karissa was someone who cared and supported him. He was fully aware how important he was in her life just as she was to his. That's why he knew full well what she would do if she realized what he was going to do. She'd do anything to stop him. So, he had to stop her before she had the chance.

She sensed him using magic. A bad feeling coursed through her.

Her eyes widened. "Gray—!"

He quickly stepped away with his arms flying back to his side just as a cube of ice trapped her inside, rendering her enable to move or speak. Gray looked at her solemnly for a few seconds before turning around.

What the fuck?! Why did he do that?!

And she wanted to scream and shout the moment she saw Gray in that damn Iced Shell stance again. The idiot was going to do it again.

You knew I'd try to stop you! You damn…!

She could faintly hear Lyon yelling at Gray to stop while her body struggled to break free in some way.

I have to use my wind magic to loosen the ice surrounding my body fast! Then I'll break free with a burst of wind arcs.

Come on…

Hurry.

As she hurried, she saw Natsu step in front of Gray. He was stopping him from using the Iced Shell. Good. Keep that idiot busy.

Karissa was able to move a bit inside Gray's ice.

Just a bit more.

She heard Deliora's roar again, this time it raised its arm to crush Natsu under its fist.

With a shout, Karissa broke free from the ice surrounding her body, the ice flying everywhere, and stepped into the water. To do what? She wasn't sure. Her mind had yet to come up with something to counter Deliora and somehow protect the people around her. Then its arm froze in the air along with everyone else in the cave.

The arm cracked and fell off and soon enough its entire body was doing the same before it all began to fall apart in the water.

Karissa's eyes widened. "… What?"

"For ten years… Deliora was subverted in Ur's ice…" Lyon spoke from the ground behind her. "And we're… simply seeing his final moments…?!" he said in disbelief. Karissa turned a little to look at him and saw him slam his fist on the ground with tears of frustration. "I can't compare… I can't surpass Ur."

The brief adrenaline that built up was beginning to wear off and she felt relief wash over her once again. Feeling unsteady on her feet she walked backwards until she finally stumbled back and sat down in the water, simply staring down at the flowing water that was once her beloved teacher.

It didn't feel cold.

It somehow felt warm like as if someone was gently embracing her. A familiar feeling that she had forgotten.

Karissa lifted her hands and scooped up some of the water.

You somehow ended up saving all three of us years after you became ice.

The water slipped through her fingers.

You were really an amazing teacher and mage, Ur.

It might have been her imagination but she could have sworn she heard a voice tell her to take care. A voice that filled her with nostalgic warmth.

Gray rubbed the back of his neck as Karissa ignored him and just kept squeezing whatever water she could of her clothes while sitting on a rock. He had tried calling her name earlier after recovering from some waterworks but she didn't even look at him. But he once caught a glance of her face and saw how positively glacial she looked.

"… H-Hey, Karissa."

…

…

…

He frowned deeply. He wanted to give a proper apology while looking at her face but she wasn't making it easy for him.

When they were kids, Karissa was definitely not the type to take shit sitting down. She would often get into fights that his father or her older brother had to break up. As they grew up, she was able to keep a lid on her anger and not just lash out like some immature child. But the times where she did get angry made a few guild members uneasy. Long time members were aware of how scary she could get, that glare she'd give someone was enough to turn tail and run. It was even scarier now since it rarely happened. They figured that if openly showed her displeasure today, it was the result of much contained negativity. And right now, the anger radiating off her was making him nervous because it was all directed towards him.

He heaved out a sigh and reached for her wrist to forcefully get her attention. The last thing he needed was for her to ignore him like the plague for who knows how long. She scoffed and leaned away from him. She put her hands flat on the rock and scooted back and then lifted her leg to slam it into Gray's side, sending him crashing into the water.

"Ah fuck!"

He should be grateful that she didn't kick the side of his injury.

Lyon, who was watching from a far, had his lips in a tight line as he blinked a few times.

Natsu just cackled while saying that she got him good.

With a sputter, Gray sat up and wiped the water off his face, and then he flinched when he noticed she was in the water with her leg reeled back. "O-Oi—!"

He was muffled by the sound of splashing water that Karissa caused when she kicked up the water. Her wind magic was making it even worse. At some point, he just gave up and stopped fluttering around and just sat in the water while she vents out her anger. He just hoped she wouldn't drown him.

"You are never, ever, allowed to freeze me like that again, you hear me?!" Karissa shouted at him after grabbing his head and lightly shaking it. She didn't pull his hair or anything though much to his relief. "If you do it again, I'm... I'm freezing your dick! And I'll drown you in the river by the bridge!"

"You'll what?!" Gray freaked, baffled, his hand flying down to his nether regions since he wasn't sure if he should take that threat lightly. "Keep your magic away from it!"

But that was not what she wanted to say.

She wanted him to tell him not to sacrifice himself like that since it made her incredibly sad. She nearly cried.

She didn't want him throwing away his life so easily.

It was just a habit. Instead of openly expressing sadness, it was ejected in the form of anger.

Gray was very much aware of this.

With her shoes in the water, she sat down on the rock and stared down at water with her hands in her hair. "Please… never again."

Gray couldn't make out her face properly, not with her bangs hanging in front, so he got up after shaking some water out of his hair and walked up to her. He crouched down and grabbed her hands in his. "I won't. Never again."

To say that she was terrified was an understatement. A few moments ago, she was so focused on breaking free from his ice and trying to stop him that she didn't realize how scared she was until all tension was released from her body. A life without Gray in it, she didn't dare imagine it.

"Do you promise?" her voice sounded small.

"Yeah." He ruffled her hair. "I promise."

She pulled away from his larger hands and linked her pinky with his to reinforce their promise. It made him chuckle.

How childish.

But then he could feel her pinky shaking. He furrowed his brows.

Then she sniffled.

"Come on, don't cry." Gray nudged her head playfully with the back of his hand. "You're doing well holding it in."

"I won't. Shut up." he slapped his hand off her and pouted. Silently, she looked up at Gray with her little pout and just held out her arms to him. She wanted a hug. Gray just moved closer for her to wrap her arms around him tightly. He hugged her back and gave her soft rubs on her back to make her feel better.

Natsu watched the two silently with a smile on in his face. He turned his head the other way, and he nearly died from shock.

Suddenly, they heard Natsu scream out of fear. When Karissa and Gray looked back, they saw how he was trying to flee from Erza who was holding tightly onto his scarf. Lucy and Happy were there too. Lucy was sighing behind them.

Not too far from them, Karissa noticed how Lyon was struggling to get up on his knees. She released Gray and got up on her feet to hop off the rock and timidly jog over to him. The oldest of the three looked like he needed help after all, and she wanted to give it to him. When he stumbled, she appeared to hold him up much to his surprise. Gray soon went over to help him as well.

I think I could safely say that we're all standing on the same side now.

Chapter Text

They ended up outside the cave at a rocky part of the beach.

Karissa inhaled the fresh air while Natsu jumped with joy now that their S-Class quest was 'over'. False. It wasn't. She knew it wasn't over now that she was recalling all the events that transpired.

Karissa was leaning on the rock that Lyon, who was escorted out of the cave, was sitting back against as she watched the Lucy look hopeful. She was about to say something until she heard the girl say something so ridiculous.

"Do you think they'll let us on the second floor now?!"

The black haired girl's hand shot up to muffle a laugh. Lyon slightly glanced up at her and watched her shake her head in amusement. There was no way that was going to happen any time soon.

Erza looked at the rule breakers with a dirty look and it instantly made them shut up.

After this, we're probably getting nowhere close to the second floor anytime soon.

Lucy held her head in despair as her optimism flew out the window. "Right… There's still a punishment in store for us!"

"But isn't there something you need to do first?" Erza asked them, "Wasn't the real objective of this job to help the villagers who've been transformed into demons? The S-Class quest isn't over yet."

"B-But Deliora is dead," Lucy turned to look at Karissa who was staring blankly back at her. "Karissa thought that the village's curse was coming from a source. That source must have been Deliora!"

"No." Karissa shook her head. "You heard your celestial spirit, she said that their bodies had been contaminated by being exposed to the Moon Drip." Karissa's eyes shifted to look up.

But yet, I'm starting to think she might be wrong.

Because if we look at Lyon's followers AND Lyon himself then something doesn't add up.

None of them look like demons.

The blonde sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand. "So… how do we heal them now?"

Gray turned towards Lyon. "Hey, Lyon!"

The older ice mage stared blankly with those slanted eyes of his, "I have no idea, just so you know."

Karissa put her hand under her chin and narrowed her eyes, "Lyon's group hasn't been affected by the Moon Drip despite spending much more time exposed to it. They still look very human." She looked down at him. "How long have you been here for?"

"Three years." He replied. "But we never interacted with the villagers. They never once came to see us, either." He added and then looked to the side. "It's as you said, we've been exposed to the same light for three years and yet we haven't changed one bit. I have some doubts about the Moon Drip's influences on the human body."

"He's right." Karissa looked at Erza and Lucy. "You saw the people of Brago. No horns or anything like that."

"Right. That's true." Lucy put a hand under her chin thoughtfully. "Things aren't adding up…"

"And I'm starting to think there might not even be a curse…" Karissa muttered to herself but she was sure Lyon heard her due to their proximity. She put her hands in her pockets and paused.

Right… I forgot I brought this.

"Be careful. They're hiding something." Lyon then shrugged. "But anyway, this is guild work now."

The others began making their way back to the village but Gray and Karissa lagged behind to turn their attention back to Lyon. The older of the three looked at Gray in surprise before narrowing his eyes at him. "What are you looking at?"

"You should join a guild too." Gray suggested. "I'm sure you'll find friends, rivals, and I'm sure you'll find a new goal."

Lyon looked away from him, "What rubbish. Just leave already!" he flicked his hand.

Gray smiled a little and started to turn until he noticed that Karissa was looking into her pocket.

"You coming?"

Her head shot up. "H-Huh? Oh, yeah. Just go on ahead. I'll be there soon."

The two stared at each other with Gray being the one trying to figure out why she wanted to stay but he didn't question her, he just nodded, and turned to walk after his friends. "Don't stay away for too long. Erza will think you're trying to escape."

Once Gray was out of earshot, she could feel Lyon's gaze on her. She heaved out a tired sigh. "You got any place where your friends will find you?"

"What?"

"Well, you're far from that exit of the cave and I doubt people could see you hiding behind this rock." She pointed her chin at his body. "Plus, you got wrecked by Gray. Can you even walk?"

"… I don't need your pity."

"Who the…" she narrowed her eyes. "Who said I pitying you?" she clicked her tongue in annoyance and started walking around the rock to stand in front of him. She reached out for him and did her best to hold him up until he started struggling against her.

"Hey! I didn't ask for your help—"

"I'm so tempted to drop you sideways." She said apathetically while staring at him. She was warning him not to take that threat lightly. Lyon was no longer her enemy so she found no problem in helping him out a little.

After a short staring contest, Lyon just huffed and resigned to his fate. He forced himself to stand upright while she gently supported him. She was perceptive of Lyon's silent winces and did her best to lessen the pain by taking it easy. With his help, they were able to find a place that would allow his comrades to find him when they had a better view of the area. Luckily, there was some long rock that look like a bench. A perfect place to leave him.

She put her hands in her pockets after setting him down.

"Thank you." He quietly said.

"You're welcome. Now…" Karissa pulled out a bandage roll from her pocket. He blinked in surprise. Was she serious? He was staring at her dumbfounded as she approached him.

He leaned away, "That's not necessary." he looked up and down between the roll and her face.

"I already had this with me just in case something happened, so I might as well use this. Here hold it." She gave him the bandage roll and reached for her back pocket to pull out a dry wipe. She created a small ice cube that melted fast. She used the water to clean his wound carefully before dabbing it with the wipe. When she finished cleaning it, she reached for her other back pocket to pull out a square packet that was the size of her pocket. She held it up to her teeth and, with practiced hands, she ripped off the opening and quickly pulled out the antiseptic wipe just before the packet fell to the ground with a flick of her wrist. She'd have to pick it up later.

She spat out the paper. That too.

Karissa moved closer to Lyon and pushed his disheveled hair back to have a better view of his head injury. He had some open cuts on the forehead but nothing too serious.

She applied the antiseptic.

He hissed and narrowed his eyes at her. "At least be gentle!"

"Sorry."

She usually had antiseptic wipes on her just in case. There was nothing wrong with being prepared after all. Her wounds never got her any infections so far and she wasn't trying to experience them either.

With a hand still holding his hair up, she held her hand out to him for the roll which he gave her back.

"… You look awful." he said after a few seconds of silence.

Karissa paused and gave him a look. "Gee, thanks. You're a real charmer, you know that?"

Lyon rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"I haven't slept nor ate anything in the past two days." Karissa explained while wrapping the bandage around his head. "I guess it's catching up to me now that I have time to breathe."

It fell silent between them again while she did her task. He was taking a good look at the person standing before him and comparing her to the eight-year-old version of herself that he remembered. The one thing he noticed was she wasn't as smiley as she used to be. Surely it must be because she kept sticking with Gray, the grumpy one out of three.

When she finished her task, she dropped his hair and let it fall back in place.

"There, all done."

"Thank you—" he yelped in pain when she felt her fist land square on his head. His hand shot up and he stared at her in disbelief. "What's your problem?!"

Karissa held her wrist and flexed her hand nonchalantly. "You used one hand for molding magic. You didn't learn your lesson from Ur. Fix that."

Lyon rubbed his head and stared at her warily.

She shook her head and picked up the trash she threw on the ground. "Anyway, yeah. Go join a guild or something. You'll finally breathe in new life once you do." she treaded back to the village with a lazy wave.

As he watched her leave, he lowered his hand. She had punched him in the same manner Ur used to do whenever she scolded him about not using both hands. He opened his hand and looked down at it pensively.

When she returned to the village, she found everyone staring up at something. They were inside the village that supposedly destroyed the previous night. She had no idea how it was returned back to its original state.

Anyway, everyone was staring at something and that was Erza and Natsu. She had a spear pointed up at the moon.

Wait what?

"Is she serious?" Karissa furrowed her brows. "The moon…?"

"You don't really think they're going to pull this off do they?" Gray asked the girls.

"Hell. No." Karissa said flatly.

"Well, I think they've totally gone off the deep end this time." Lucy replied.

Erza, with the help of Natsu, threw the spear towards the moon. The spear then cracked the moon at least that's what it looked like until the sky began to crack. Even after destroying the sky, nothing happened to the villagers, they remained the same. According to Erza, the Moon Drip spell had released evil energy in the form of gas which eventually crystalized over the island, forming an invisible shell above the island. It explained why it made the moon look purple inside the shell's perimeter. It also explained why the villagers thought they had a curse since it affect their memory. They were all demons to begin with. Quite a shocking revelation.

After knowing this, the demons of Galuna Island wanted to throw a huge party to celebrate their freedom from the 'curse'.

"A demon celebration…?" Lucy said uneasily as she tried to picture it. "That sounds… really intense."

Karissa apathetically held up her hand. "I'm down. I'm starving."

"For demon food?"

"Anything at this point. I'll even eat wood."

…

…

…

Lucy sweat dropped at how Karissa was practically inhaling the food given to her. It almost reminded her of Natsu bar that Karissa had the decency to not throw food everywhere as she ate. She was so hungry that she didn't think even think about how the food looked like. It wasn't so bad though even if some of the food looked like literal botflies.

"Were you really that hungry?" Lucy asked after swallowing down some crab. She noticed that Karissa was quite talkative right now so she figured she might as well strike a conversation with her while she had the chance since she never knew if she'd get the chance. It was always good to get to know her fellow guild members.

Karissa had a bowl in front of her mouth as she glanced up to look at the celestial mage sitting in front of her. She lowered her bowl and licked her lips. "Weren't you? She tipped her head. "There was hardly any time to eat anything during the whole quest."

Lucy grinned uneasily as she remembered her state several hours ago. "Happy and I got something to eat this morning while Erza had us tied up."

Karissa's eyebrows rose. "She tied you up?"

Lucy sighed. "Right after I beat Sherry she ended up finding me first with Happy." She said before sipping from her cup.

This made Karissa chuckle softly at the thought. Lucy must have been terrified since Erza was pretty scary. A newbie like her had yet to adjust to scary Erza. Karissa wasn't too scared of her since she practically lived with someone who could just be as terrifying as her. Mirajane, Erza and Pandora were quite the scary trio.

Right…

Karissa set her bowl on the table and sighed tiredly. She wasn't ready for it.

"Hm? What's the matter?"

"I have my own Erza to deal with when I get home."

A second Erza?

As if she read her mind, Karissa gave her a reply: "Pandora."

Lucy repeated the name softly. "Oh, her? The one who sometimes models with Mirajane?"

"Yeah, she's my sister. So, I'm bound to get some strict scolding when we get home…"

"Wait! Seriously?! Your sister?"

"Yeah… you didn't know? Ah, right. I never told you my full name. It's Karissa Sinclost."

Lucy gasped and hovered a hand over her mouth. Now it made sense why Karissa Sinclost usually refused to have her picture taken by the magazine. She was shy. The Sinclost siblings' origin story was not too unheard of in the Kingdom of Fiore. They weren't superstars but still.

"Is our reputation really a big deal?" Karissa asked curiously, tipping her head.

Lucy recovered and quickly waved her hand dismissively. "I just wasn't expecting it." She laughed nervously. Then she smiled at her. "I'm glad I got to know you before I knew who you were."

Karissa raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because I got to see what an amazing wizard you are without expecting it. It's like spoiler-free, you know? I can be pretty bias when it comes to Fairy Tail." Lucy smiled sheepishly.

The black haired girl closed her eyes and chuckled with a shrug. "I guess. But the reason I became like this was because Ur told her to make her proud. She told me I would become a wonderful mage when I grow up. I wanted to live up to her expectations to make her proud."

Lucy smiled softly at the nostalgic look on her guildmate's face. She was conjuring up an old memory of the past. Lucy had only heard bits and pieces about Ur, the beloved teacher of the three ice mages, but she understood how great of a mage she must have been.

Karissa lifted a hand when she felt a yawn crawling up. That was her cue. She needed to sleep now. Like right now.

Just as Erza came over to sit with them, Karissa got up. The older mage looked at the shorter girl curiously when she saw the sluggish movements. She knew that posture all too well.

"Are you going to retire for the night?" Erza asked her with a small smile.

"Yeah." Karissa hid another yawn. "I haven't slept in the past two days…" she trailed off and paused. "No, wait… I haven't slept in probably three days actually if we count the time we spent in the cave… Oh god."

She was horrified at how long she had been up. No human should be staying up that long and still be walking. It became a habit to sleep late when she was at home but she never tried to stay awake past 3 AM. It honestly felt like something bad might happen to her if she stayed up any longer.

Lucy grinned at her. "You should have slept like me and Natsu." She said with amusement.

Karissa scoffed. "Not with Deliora staring down at me. I'm not that relaxed." She turned around and started walking back to the little hut where they stayed. "Goodnight."

She lazily waved her hand when she heard Lucy and Erza bid her goodnight.

With another yawn that nearly cracked her jaw, Karissa opened the door and found the lights open. Inside she found Gray wrapping his waist with a bandage roll. When the door opened behind him, he perked up and glanced over his shoulder curiously.

"Oh, hey." He looked back down at himself.

"What's up."

"Nothing. Just patching myself up."

Karissa hummed and walked over to her bag. It was only then that she realized that the acid jelly that destroyed the village had actually destroyed her headphones in the process. Thank god it was somehow in one piece. She dug inside the bag for her sleeping clothes.

"You going back outside?" she asked while walking to the screen in the room that would give her enough privacy to change.

"Nah, I'm going to bed right after. I wanna speed up the healing process even if just a little. Sleeping helps, you know?"

Karissa sighed tiredly and pulled off her dark blue jacket and just tossed in on the floor. "Of course, I know that."

"What about you?"

"If I stay up any longer than this, I'm scared I'll cough out blood or something."

She heard him laugh while she put on her shirt. "You're being ridiculous."

"I don't care, it's not normal to stay up for more than forty-eight hours!"

"This is coming from the girl who'll stay up past 1 AM for who knows what."

Karissa yawned and stepped out from behind the screen in her nightwear. "I know my limits." She said simply as she went over to a table to fold her clothes neatly.

They closed the lights but left a lamp on so that the others could see when they came inside the hut. Karissa was settled inside her futon and she was staring up at the ceiling blankly. The threads of sleep would eventually wrap around her and pull her into a deep sleep, but she was still awake with her mind going over that dreadful scenario in the throne room.

"… Gray?"

"Hm, what?" he sounded on like he was on the verge of sleep.

"I didn't want you to die." She admitted softly. "But you wanted to be a suicidal maniac."

Gray was pulled away from sleep when she called him that. He shifted his head on the pillow to look at her. She was just staring up at the ceiling with a small frown on her face.

"You can't just die easily like that. Your life is not just yours. It also belongs to the people who care about you. So… you can't just take it away from us, okay?"

It wasn't often that Karissa became so openly honest like this. Sometimes, her true words were usually whispered behind different words that only scrapped the surface of its true meaning. One only needed to listen carefully for them to understand. He had gotten used to this a few years after she hopped onto the timidity boat. The words she told him earlier back in the cave, he understood their meaning. Maybe she was thinking she wasn't clear enough that's why she was telling him her honesty words now?

Karissa turned her body to face him with an unreadable expression. "Did that make sense?"

He nodded lightly. "Yeah, I get it."

There was a brief silence as they just stared at each other with no awkward air.

He promised me he wouldn't do it again.

I want to trust him, I really do, yet my nature to be extra cautious won't let me fully do so.

"Can I hug you again?"

Gray blinked and then felt a little warm as he continued staring at her. She just stared at him with that unreadable expression but the longer he stared the more he could see her eyes wavering with lingering fear. He sighed. Making her worry and nearly cry for him was something he disliked. His body turned on its good side and he lifted his arm with his blanket. He could have sat up and let her hug him but he didn't feel like moving unnecessarily with his injury.

Karissa slowly shuffled out of her futon, her sleepy state impeding her movements, and clumsily laid down next to him. She put a single arm around him and he dropped his on her.

Not the best hug but it'll do.

"Sorry I worried you."

"Scared is the proper word, weirdo."

"Right, scared. Sorry about that."

Everyone in Fairy Tail should live a long life because they deserve to.

I want to keep you safe; I want you to live.

That'll be a promise made in my heart.

She lazily stared at his necklace, "What did you think about when you were about to use the Iced Shell on Lyon?"

He lightly furrowed his brows, "What did I think?"

"You must have thought of something. Like, I dunno, a regret?"

He thought for a moment, "I was apologizing for leaving you guys. That was the first thing on my mind." He replied.

Karissa hummed and dragged it a few seconds. "I don't understand how you could think of throwing you life like that. I feel like I wouldn't be able to do it."

"You… don't really think of anything. You would understand if you were in my shoes, not that I'd want you to do that."

She laughed lightly. "Good to know."

"I'm serious. Anyway, that's enough about this depressing subject. Anything else on your mind?"

"… Hm… what do you think our punishment will be when we head back home?"

She heard him groan from her question. "Aw man..."

They just ended talking about the possibilities of their punishment and occasionally laughed softly together when they brought up the stories of old punishments that Natsu went through. At some point, they began to slur until they just fell asleep.

…

…

…

A roar echoed behind me. It was coming. It was after me! No, no, no, no!

I screamed for help while running in the woods. My clothes were dirty from all the times I tumbled in the dirt. My left foot hurt was hurting from having rocks dig into my heel.

"Help me!" I wailed. "Please! Somebody!"

I tripped over a root and landed harshly against a stray branch.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I continued to scream while struggling to get back up.

I wanted to get away. I wanted to go home!

After I took got back up and ran a few more steps, I was shoved onto the ground aggressively. A hand was pushing my neck against the cold soil. My fingers dug into the ground from the fear.

"No…!" I whimpered as I started crying. "Stop! Let me go!" I shrieked while trashing around futilely.

A laugh above me mocked my attempts. I looked back and saw the figure above me but my tears blurred them to the point where I could only see piercing glowing purple eyes and a wide grin. I froze when I saw them lift a hand, his hand looked like a claw.

Then it swooped down and dug into my back.

I let out a blood curling scream when it dug into my flesh.

…

…

…

Karissa's eyes shot open and she instantly sat up. She was breathing heavily as her eyes darted around the room to take in her surroundings. The darkness had frightened her since she couldn't tell where she was. It was only thanks to moonlight peeking through the closed window and Natsu's snoring that the was able to get a grip on her surroundings.

When she felt something stir next to her, she flinched with a small gasp and looked down to see Gray next to her, shifting around in his sleep. They fell asleep close to each other.

This wasn't good.

I need to get some air.

Karissa didn't even bother being discreet. She went to her bag and grabbed her shoes and then darted out the hut to who knows where.

…

…

…

Karissa sat on a rock with her knees pull up to her chest, watching the waves of the water sway gently under the moonlight. Her mouth was hidden behind her arms and her nose was pressed on it as she stared ahead without really thinking about anything. She was grateful to her resistance to the cold that she didn't need anything to cover herself to keep her body warm.

The dream she had was a tough one to swallow. It didn't feel like a bad dream. It was a real nightmare that shook her to the bone. A few minutes ago, when she just sat down, she realized how hard her heart pounding against her rib cage, and how her hands trembled when she placed them on the rock. Now, she seemed calmer than before after watching the flow of the waves.

Then, she heard a twig snap behind her. The adrenaline of her nightmare nearly surged back when she whipped around in fright if it were not for the familiar sight of scarlet hair.

"… E-Erza." she breathed out.

She was dressed in her light purple pajamas with the Heart Kreuz patterns and a pair of sandals.

Erza noted how her reaction was not a simple response of startlement. It almost looked like pure terror on her face, and seeing Karissa so worked up was an unusual sight.

She offered her a friendly smile and got closer to her. "If you stay out here too long you're going to catch a cold." She sat next to her while Karissa just resumed her fetal position.

"It's fine." She tucked her head in her arms and sighed. "Why are you out here?"

"You weren't exactly quiet when you woke up." She informed her. "You've been gone for a longtime. Was it a nightmare?"

"Mmhm." She peeked up and stared back at the sea. "It was really scary."

"Do you think it'll make you feel better if you talk about it?"

"Maybe but I don't really want to think about it now. Besides, I've been feeling better just looking at the sea."

"Is that so?" Erza smiled and looked ahead. "I suppose the sea does have some therapeutic effect."

"I think so too. It made me think that maybe my dream was because I was around a demon of my past."

She just didn't understand why it had to go as far as having something clawed into her back though.

"Dreams do tend to form based on what we've experienced."

"I guess."

After a while of staring at the sea in silence and listening to the waves, Erza looked away from the sea and looked at her friend who seemed more relaxed. She put a hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner, "We should really get back to bed. You said it yourself: you need to get some rest."

The black haired girl inhaled and sighed through her nose. She swallowed and then nodded. Erza was right. She couldn't just spend her time in front of the sea waiting for dawn of the new day even though it seemed like a good way to avoid another nightmare.

"Alright."

The next morning, Karissa was able to bounce back to her usual composed self. Erza was the only person to be aware of her state that night but she didn't press on the subject since Karissa was feeling okay. In fact, she slept a good dreamless sleep.

They took a ship back to Hargeon, a ship that Erza had hijacked from a crew of pirates, and took the train back to Magnolia. The others didn't want to know how she was able to do it.

"We're back home!" Natsu cheered joyfully once he recovered from his motion sickness on the train.

"Quite the delayed reaction there." Karissa arched a brow.

Gray ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed. "All that trouble for one little key."

Happy nodded in agreement. "It was an S-Class quest too."

Naturally, an S-Class quest should have gotten them a bigger reward. However, Erza had politely refused the village's 7 million jewel offer since Fairy Tail never allowed them to take on the job in the first place. But she did gratefully accept a golden key that was offered to them which Lucy immediately took for herself as the sole celestial wizard in the group.

"It wasn't an official job. This is fair enough."

Lucy nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yup, yup. No need to complain!"

"We should just sell it." Happy piped up.

"What are you saying?!" Lucy gaped. "I've told you before; there are only 12 Golden Zodiac keys in the world. They're extremely rare."

Natsu laughed with a lazy grin. "What? Like that cow and that maid?"

"If I train myself more, those stellar spirits will become even stronger than you!"

"So, which key did you get?" Gray asked.

"Sagittarius, the archer!" she waved the golden key in front of the ice mages.

"You got Scorpio?" Karissa wondered curiously.

"I only have Aquarius, Virgo, Taurus, Cancer and Sagittarius." She held up those keys for her.

"Hm… pity. I wanted to see what my zodiac sign looked like."

"We really should sell that key if they're so rare." Happy mumbled.

"I said no!" Lucy hissed.

Karissa sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "We could have gotten at least just a bit of money… I could have use it to buy some art supplies."

"Again?" Gray looked at her with a lifted brow. "Didn't you buy some on your job with Loke a month ago?"

She looked at him and saw the new scar on his forehead above his left eye. "They were cheap and low quality." Karissa said flatly, displeased. "I heard there were better ones somewhere in the southern part of Fiore. I forgot what the town's name was though…"

All of a sudden, Erza stopped in her tracks and whipped around to face the four people behind her, ceasing all chatter. "Now, let's get to the guild and decide on your punishment. In regard to this case, I kept thinking I could overlook your actions. But, it's the Master who renders the verdict. I have no intention of defending you. So be prepared for your punishment."

…

…

Gray suddenly crouched on the floor and held his head. "Wait, I never want to do that again!"

"What is that?!" Lucy freaked from Gray's sudden panic. She looked at Karissa when she heard her hiss and found her scratching her bare arms with both her sleeves pulled back to her elbows.

"… I should have just gone back home." The girl said with immense anxiety while reaching up to scratch her neck. She was usually a goody two shoes to avoid complications.

Happy flew next to her with a worried look on his face. "Calm down, Karissa! You're going to have a mental breakdown!" he told her while flailing his arms.

"Is it really that bad?" Lucy squeaked.

Scared, Lucy watched as Natsu got forcefully dragged away by Erza's mighty iron grip while crying tears and desperately trying to escape. His cries got farther away as Erza continued dragging him with no effort at all.

Soon enough, they others got a hold of themselves and dragged their feet after Erza. When they walked further into town, they noticed a bunch of people whispering amongst the crowd around them.

Karissa looked at the townspeople who were staring at them. The look on their faces. It was pity. But for what? She reached up for her collar and played with it as she observed the people.

Unless Master Makarov decided to announce to the whole town what our punishment is then I don't see a reason why they'd be looking at us like this…

Did something bad happen in town?

"What's that…? The guild shouldn't look like that."

Erza's voice pulled Karissa away from her thoughts and the people. She looked ahead and found the others staring in the direction of their guild hall. Their building was there but it had what looked like massive metal rods impaled through it.

Quickly, they ran over to the guild to get a better look. It was even worse up close. Giant steel rods, cracks and broken wood scattered around it.

What fucking disrespect…

Karissa bit her lip when she took in the sight. It was tough to swallow. The person who did this might as well have stomped on her heart. The building wasn't just a guildhall, it was also their home that they just wrecked.

Gray looked around, "No way..."

"What in the world happened?" Erza asked to no one in particular.

"Phantom…" a soft voice spoke with a tremble from behind them. They all turned to see Mirajane with a crushed expression. They didn't quite catch what she said.

"Did you say Phantom?" Natsu gritted his teeth.

"Phantom Lord…" Karissa muttered bitterly, her eyes narrowed.

The guild towards the northeast that represent Fiore alongside Fairy Tail…

Will this alight the flames of war because this very much seems like a declaration of war…

Chapter Text

The team stared at how Master Makarov was just drinking away some booze without a care in the world.

"Gramps, what are you sitting around here for?!" Natsu exclaimed.

Karissa scrunched up her nose at the smell of booze strongly emanating from him. Just how much alcohol had he been drinking?

"Ooh, right you are." Makarov set down his mug and pointed his finger at the group, "How dare you gon on an S-Class quest without permission?!"

Karissa blinked. That's what he's concerned about? C'mon Master…

"Punishment!" He hollered like a typical drunk man, "I'll give you your punishment now! Prepare yourselves!"

"It's not the time for that now!" Natsu shouted but was then cut off when Master Makarov's hand stretched to land chop on Natsu's head.

Karissa, Gray and Happy flinched when they received their own respective chops. Lucy got a spank on the bum though which Mirajane scolded him for.

Erza and Natsu stepped up.

"Master! Do you understand our current situation?!"

"They wrecked our guild!"

With a tired sigh, Makarov propped his head up with his hand and drummed his fingers on his knee. "Well, calm down. It's not something to make a fuss about."

"Seriously?" Karissa arched a brow. "What about those who were hurt? You're really going to let that slide?"

He snorted and picked up his mug. "I don't see why I should get worked up over an attack on an empty guild."

It was empty?

"It was empty?" Erza questioned.

Mirajane nodded by Makarov's side. "It seems the attack happened in the middle of the night."

"I see, so no one was hurt… We were lucky."

Master Makarov let out a laugh and waved his hand dismissively. "There's no need to get cross with someone that resorts to surprise attacks. Leave them be."

Natsu slammed his hands down in front of their guild master. "I can't accept it! I won't be satisfied until we go and crush those guys!"

"This discussion is over!" Makarov state as he straightened up. "Until the upstairs is repaired, we'll take work requests from here." he informed them before running off to the loo with a drunk giggle.

"This is just as hard for the Master, you know. But outright conflict between guilds is forbidden by the Council." Mirajane said.

"They're the ones who attacked us first!"

Karissa sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Rules are rules, Natsu, especially when the Master insists that we follow them."

Natsu looked back at Karissa where he found everyone looking conflict about the issue. It was leaving a bad taste in their mouth.

"If this is how the Master feels about it…" Erza spoke, "Then we have to accept that…"

Without another word, Gray took that as his cue to walk away and talk with Loke while Erza went back upstairs to look at the state inside.

"Karissa!"

Lucy flinched at the booming voice while Karissa just sweat dropped with her lips puckered.

The blonde wizard turned her head and found two people walking towards them. A beautiful young woman and a good looking young man.

The woman had long black hair, longer than Karissa's, that was tied up in a high ponytail with a light purple feather scrunchie. She was wearing a magenta and white spaghetti strap dress that had a slit along the side of her right thigh, revealing navy blue bike shorts. She wore navy blue and white loose sleeve around her arms. She wore knee-high brown boots that had black soles. Her silver cross earrings swayed as she walked.

The young man had black hair that spiked to the left with his bangs parting in an 'M-shape' on the left side of his head. He wore a long violent and black high-collared jacket with long sleeves on top of a white shirt that had a blue 'X-sign' across his chest. Blood red pants that had two black laces hanging by each of his sides along with black and light blue high ankle shoes. His left ear shined a little from the silver ear cuff and the purple earring reflecting the light.

The woman looked upset while the man was smiling.

"Oh, Pandora, Van. What's up?" Karissa asked casually.

"What's up?" Pandora repeated, baffled. "You know what's up missy!" she reached and pinched her cheek harshly to pull her in front of her. Karissa lazily stumbled in her sister's direction and stared at her with a frown.

"Owie." she moaned when her sister pinched harder.

"You go off on an S-Class mission and you have the nerve to ask me 'what's up'?!" the older sibling nearly roared, making Lucy flinched and step back. "You had one damn job! You're lucky I haven't thrown you in the river by now!"

I literally have no excuse for myself. This sucks.

"Okay, Pandora… calm down." Van laughed and removed his older sister's hand off his little sister's. "Master Makarov already punished them for their behaviour."

Karissa let Van gently stroke her abused cheek in silence since she appreciated his defense on her behalf.

"You call that a punishment?! That was a slap on the wrist!"

Van shrugged and lowered his hand. "I think it's fine considering the circumstance."

"Our little sister went on an S-Class quest that she isn't qualified to take! Aren't you at least a little angry?!"

Van tipped his head. "I mean, of course, my baby sister went on a dangerous mission. But I feel like it also helped her gain some good experience."

"I'm surprised you're calm about this. I thought you'd be furious." Karissa gave her brother a look. "I mean about the guild."

Mirajane sighed, "He nearly levelled the building when he saw it."

"He what…?!" Lucy gaped in surprise and attracted the attention of Karissa's two older siblings.

"Who's this?" Pandora quirked a brow.

"O-Oh, my name's Lucy! I just joined Fairy Tail." She quickly introduced herself.

"Ah," Pandora narrowed her eyes. "So you went on that S-Class quest with Natsu."

Lucy shrunk under her gaze. Karissa was right, it was like a second Erza bar that it felt more like she was getting scolded by a scary mother. Both were beautiful yet terrifying when angry.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

The oldest Sinclost watched Lucy carefully while Mirajane, Karissa and Van watched her examine the young newbie.

"Looks a bit naïve…" Pandora muttered to herself. "I can see why Natsu roped you into this."

"Don't talk like I'm not here." Natsu scowled from the side.

The older woman ignored him and just offered Lucy a polite smile. "Next time, think twice before doing something so reckless."

Van and Karissa looked at each other. It seemed like Pandora judged her innocent on this case.

Lucy laughed nervously and nodded with her hand behind her head. "W-Will do."

After that, Pandora decided to drag her sister back home for a stern lecture with Van trailing behind them. She probably sat in the living room for about an hour before Pandora decided to wrap it up and let her be free. There wasn't any time to worry about a punishment when things were tense.

Also, Pandora told Karissa to pack up some clothes after she took a quick shower, a greatly needed one after the whole fiasco at Galuna Island, and informed her about her stay at Lucy's house. Apparently, the guild had arranged guild members to stay in a group for the night as a precaution. They couldn't be too lax since they knew that Phantom Lord came into town. It was possible that they were still lingering in Magnolia. There was a possibility that Phantom knew where certain members lived.

When asked about why she couldn't stay at her own place, Van explained that the Master thought it would be best for the team of Galuna Island to stick together considering how groups had already been formed. In her house, Pandora, Van, Loke and Cana were going to be sticking together.

In other words, she wasn't welcomed in her own home. Great.

That explained why she was currently sitting in Lucy's room with Erza, Natsu, Happy and Gray while eating some takeout that they bought before coming over.

Karissa was chewing her food when Lucy came home in complete shock over their uninvited appearances.

"Don't gang up on me!" her suitcase went flying towards Natsu and it hit him square in the face after Karissa leaned back.

…

…

…

After explaining things to Lucy, they finished dinner and got ready for bed since it was getting late. Karissa took a pass on the bath since she already showered, leaving the others to spend more time if they wished it. Lucy was nice enough to let the others use her bath first before using it herself. During that time, Karissa had been sketching drawings to feed her boredom monster. She was already dressed in some orchid colored cotton pajamas that had snowflake patterns on them.

Karissa felt Gray drag a chair next to her as she sketched on Lucy's desk. She stopped her pencil and glanced at Gray, who smelled like peaches, and saw him pick up a stack of papers that she neatly set aside.

"What's this?" he asked curiously before turning side ways to give Karissa the space she needed to draw.

"No idea." She resumed her sketch, "Bunch of words, it might be a manuscript or something."

"Hm…"

The sound of Natsu snoring on the table, Happy munching on fish, Gray shuffling papers, and Karissa's pencil dancing on paper were the only things echoing in her room soon after.

Karissa was completely in the zone that she barely registered the fact that Lucy was back inside the room talking with Erza.

"… we've had a lot of smaller skirmishes before this, but never such a direct attack." Erza spoke, pulling Karissa away from her focus.

Natsu huffed in annoyance. "If Gramps wasn't such a scaredy-cat, we could just destroy those punks!"

Gray looked up from the manuscript and gave Natsu a tired look. "Gramps isn't scared. He's one of the Ten Wizard Saints, you know."

Lucy suddenly gasped and ran up behind Karissa and Gray, making the first flinch in surprise, and reached for the papers. "What do you think you're reading so nonchalantly?!" she told Gray as she swiped them out of his hands.

"Hey! I want to know what happens next! What's going to happen to Iris?!"

"Iris?" Karissa repeated.

"You weren't supposed to read it!" Lucy held it out of reach when Gray tried taking them back. "Levy-chan is going to be my first ready. It's already been decided. Anyway, what do you mean by Ten Wizard Saints?"

"A title." Karissa stretched her arms. "Given by the chairman of the Magic Council to the best mages on the continent."

"So, Master Makarov is that strong?"

"Pretty much." she replied lazily before dropping her head on Gray's shoulder and yawning into her hand.

"Phantom Lord's Master Jose is also one of them." Happy piped up.

"He's scared!" Natsu stood up angrily. "The only thing Phantom's got are numbers!"

Gray sighed, "I'm telling you, that's not it. The Master and Mira want to avoid a fight because they know the consequences of two guilds battling each other. It's to help preserve the peace of the entire world of magic."

"Are they that great?" Lucy wondered, worried.

Natsu grinned confidently, "Those guys are nothing!"

Erza shook her head. "No, if it came to blows, mutual destruction is ensured. Our offensive powers are about equal. Master Makarov is said to be on par with Master Jose. Then there are the Element 4, their S-Class level wizards."

"But every guild has their own set of requirements for S-Class?" Karissa interjected. "I don't think we should be holding the Element 4 in high regard just yet."

Karissa had actually done an S-Class exam before but failed. If she couldn't handle it then Makarov deemed her unworthy of the title. It made her realize how high Makarov's expectations were.

"Yeah, they might just be some arrogant punks." Natsu scowled. "No big deal."

"True, but we cannot brush them aside either. But our biggest worry is Kurogane Gajeel. He's the one I believe is responsible for the attack on the guild. The Iron Dragon Slayer."

Karissa sighed tiredly as she straighted up and pulled out another paper to draw on.

Laxus and his group are out of town. Mystogan is also gone.

Mirajane is not really capable of going all out.

Power House Guildarts is also absent.

Out of our six S-Class wizards, only two would be capable of fighting in the potential battle.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Lucy with a worried look on her face. She couldn't blame the girl for feeling overwhelmed; she literally just joined Fairy Tail and was about to be a part of a potential war between to powerhouse guilds in the kingdom.

Karissa pushed eraser of her pencil against her chin. "I hope nothing else happens…"

…

…

…

Something did happen.

Early in the morning, Pandora came knocking at Lucy's house and alerted the group of the latest news. Phantom Lord had laid their hands on members of their guild. Lucy's group rushed to the Southern Park Entrance and found a shocking sight.

Team Shadow Gear were beaten and bloodied, and was crucified on a tree.

Master Makarov looked up at the three Fairy Tail members with a dark look on his face and then slowly lowered his head and covered his face with his hand, shaking. "Wrecking our shoddy beer hall I could bear with… But no parent can remain silent after seeing their children's blood."

He snapped his staff in half in rage.

"This means war." He gritted his teeth.

Karissa stared at the mark displayed on Levy's stomach. The Phantom Lord mark.

"We need to get them down from there immediately." Erza ordered.

Van nodded and went ahead and shifted the earth to create some stable stairs for them. Gray, Erza and Natsu were the ones to go up and take their fallen comrades. Master Makarov was going back to the guild to announce his decision and let the others know his next move. Karissa offered to take Erza's place in bringing Levy to the hospital with Gray and Natsu who had Jet and Droy on their backs since she thought it would be better for Erza to be present with Master Makarov.

On the way to the hospital, Karissa observed the darkened looks on her friends' faces. They hadn't said a word on the way there but she could feel the aura of their rage. They were ready to fight.

Natsu was the one who finally broke the silence. "They're going to pay…"

Levy, Jet and Droy were kind souls. They didn't deserve the treatment they got from those Phantom Lord jerks. Fairy Tail never did anything to Phantom Lord to deserve being provoked like this. Master Makarov had chosen the pacifist route for the sake of everyone, that was him showing his kindness and patience as an elder. However, that patience and kindness was tested and stepped on like a disgrace.

Karissa shifted her head to look at Levy's face resting on her shoulder.

Poor Levy… you really didn't deserve this.

Karissa looked back ahead with a hardened stare. The longer she stared at Levy's battered face just made her blood boil.

Phantom couldn't get away with hurting members of their family.

…

…

Phantom Lord's guild was situated in Oak Town which was northeast of Magnolia.

Master Makarov had declared war and was eager to begin their march to their guild hall. There wasn't any need to come up with a strategy. They were going to charge in and attack the moment they saw those Phantom Lord members.

And they did.

Karissa twirled the ice hammer in her hands and then held it tightly as she glared at the Phantoms. Silently, challenging anyone to step forward.

"She's just a girl!" they mocked.

"What are you gonna do with that? Huh? You think you're scary?"

"It's ten against one!"

"Yeah—" with a burst of wind, Karissa ran towards the one speaking and slammed her hammer into the guy's gut. She heard him gasp when she sent him flying. She swiveled around and swung her hammer sideways to aim for several guys. They were sent flying with the hammer since she purposely let it go.

"Damn bitch!"

"Get her!"

Karissa glanced over her shoulder to look at them apathetically but her view was obscured when her slide in front of her with a nasty glare on her face.

Pandora growled and held her palms out in front of her. Her hands glowed brightly before releasing a powerful beam of light. Those were distracted from the blinding light were met with harsh gut poundings from the middle child. Then he switched gears and used his earth magic to attack relentlessly.

"Oh… thanks Pandora. I could have handled it though."

Pandora whirled around and flicked her forehead. "Family always has your back."

Suddenly, the entire guild hall began shaking. Master Makarov grew bigger until his head almost reached the huge ceiling of Phantom Lord's castle-like guild hall. He looked like a titan towering over ants. The fairies grinned at their leader swatting away fodder while their enemies recoiled in fear. They should be afraid. Their Master was angry, so angry about phantoms attacking them at night when no one was around.

"I… It's a monster!"

"You laid hands on this monster's children! Don't think any humans laws will protect you!"

He continued to swat them away effortlessly despite their efforts to stop him.

Karissa bumped into someone as she backed away to look around her. She was about to throw them over her shoulder until she heard them yelp.

"HEY! Relax! No friendly fire!"

"Oh, sorry Loke."

"No harm done. Literally—" he cut himself off when a blast of magic flew towards them. He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him before firing off his own magic from his rings.

The black haired girl saw how more Phantom Lord members came at them from behind while Loke wasn't aware.

"Screeching Tempest!" Karissa clawed at the air as she swung her hands down and sent a blast of wind that made an eerie screech as it charged to her opponents.

"Jose, show yourself!"

"Man, do you think he'll tear down the guildhall in search for him?" Karissa wondered when she trusted her back to the ring user. She felt him chuckle in amusement, "He's no Natsu but maybe."

"By the time he finds him, we'll be done with the ones down here."

"I think we'll be done just in time for my next date." Loke smirked as he pushed up his shades.

"You're dead!" a member screamed while coming at her with fire.

Van side stepped into his few and glared at him. "You first!" a boulder slammed into the guy and trapped him against the wall he collided against.

"Piece of garbage. Fucking die!" Van shouted angrily.

Yeah. Never directed the 'd' word towards any of Van's siblings unless you wanted a death wish.

Lucy watched odd woman dressed in blue walk past her in the rain.

"Non, non, non!"

The celestial mage and the woman stopped in their tracks.

"Non, non, non!"

Lucy gasped as she saw the soaked cement ground bulge, "Non, non, non, non, non, non, non!"

A man sprouted out from the bulge, "Bonjour with non in 3-3-7 rhythm!" he fully appeared in front of the woman that passed by Lucy.

Lucy sweat dropped and stepped away, "Another weirdo?"

"Juvia-sama! You can't just walk away from your mission!" he tutted with an accent.

"Monsieur Sol…" The woman known as 'Juvia' identified.

Sol tilted his body oddly to look at Lucy. "My monocle is whispering to me that mademoiselle over there is none other than our precious sible."

Juvia looked back at Lucy. "Oh… She's the one?"

"Cible…?" Lucy muttered just before her eyes widened in alert, "Target?" she realized and stepped back.

"I do apologize for the late introduction." The man bowed. "My name is Sol, one of the Element 4. People call me Sol of the Land… Please call me Monsieur Sol!"

"The Element 4…? Phantom!"

Lucy remembered what Erza told her last night. The Element 4 were considered S-Class mages in the Phantom Lord guild. While Karissa's words regarding the requirements of achieving S-Class did bring some sort of ease to Lucy mind, she still couldn't relax since she was still standing in front of S-Class considered mages.

"Correct!" Sol smiled. "We two have come to collect you for the great Phantom Lord!"

Lucy clenched her teeth at the warning bells ringing in her head. She was in danger.

"And this is the rain-woman of the Element 4. People call her Juvia of the Deep."

Lucy's hands were about to fly straight to her keys at her waist until she remembered something from earlier.

…

…

"Lucy."

The blonde looked up from her seat next to Levy's bed. Karissa was standing after she was silently looking at Droy's bandaged face.

"I'm gonna go back to the guild. Are you going to stay here a bit longer?"

Lucy lowered her head and looked at Levy once more after holding her hand. "Yeah…"

"Alright." The black haired girl walked to the door until she stopped midway. "Oh right. One more thing. Just in case Phantom Lord is still lurking around and laughing at us in the shadows… just in case they come in here to attack Levy and the others again… just yell the word 'Gelum'."

"Gelum?"

"It's a signal."

…

…

"GELUM!" Lucy screamed out loud just as the floor disappeared beneath her feet. Lucy frantically looked around and found herself trapped in a water sphere.

"Non, non, non! You need to be quiet mademoiselle! We cannot attract attention!" Sol put a finger up to his lips. "Il faut être silencieux!"

"It seems like she tried calling for help from a comrade." Juvia focused her magic on the water trapping Lucy, "If so, we must make haste."

Lucy popped her head out of the water and gasped for air. "Wh-What is this?!"

"Juvia's Water Lock cannot be broken." Juvia lifted her hand and forced Lucy to remain inside the water. However, the water broke just before Lucy could pass out since Juvia lost focus on her magic when she felt something kick her body aside. Juvia dropped her umbrella as she fell on the ground.

"Oh dear, Juvia-sama!" Sol looked to the side and found a girl with black hair just before a fist landed on his face. He slumped against the wall.

"It was Juvia's mistake for not turning her body in water fast enough…" Juvia admitted as she gathered her bearings and sat up. She found a girl helping up Lucy to her feet.

"K-Karissa!" Lucy looked at her face in utter surprise. She wasn't supposed to be here. Lucy was about to ask until she noticed how lifeless her eyes looked. Her face was blank and she didn't say a word. She just helped Lucy get up and wordlessly urged her to run.

A clone was left behind to protect Levy and the others just in case.

The clone pushed Lucy back and turned around to face to two Phantom Lord members. The blonde wizard headed the silent instructions and started running away while fiddling with her keys. Who should she call to protect her at the moment? She couldn't use Sagittarius since she wasn't fully aware of what kind of ability that spirit had.

Maybe Virgo can help me?

"Our cible is getting away!"

Juvia attacked the clone with water but it did not even flinch as it grazed its cheek. The rain woman's eyes flickered at that detail.

The girl slammed her hands down and created an enormous ice glacier that damaged the buildings around them.

Lucy flinched with her key in hand when she felt the ground shake from the ice attack. She stumbled and looked back and gasped.

The ice glacier was twice as tall as the buildings and it pointed towards the sky.

Karissa's ice clone whipped its head around when it felt that Lucy was still there. The blonde wizard eeped in surprise when she felt the clone's eyes staring at her sharply. It was practically asking her why the hell she was still there. Lucy honestly felt like it was the real Karissa giving her that look.

"Okay, okay! I'm going!"

The clone suddenly stumbled when it felt something slash across its body. It stumbled and looked back to find Juvia with her hand extended to the side.

"This girl is nothing but a clone left behind by the original." Juvia stated.

Sol hummed in surprise and examined the clone that was beginning to crack. He adjusted his monocle and looked up at the ice. "A mere clone replicating such an attack… Well, it is très impressionant."

Karissa's clone futilely grasped Juvia's hand and started freezing it until its hand flew off from a water slice. Juvia sliced its body one more time, causing it to shatter and fall apart harmlessly.

…

…

…

Karissa flinched. She blinked several times and looked at the entrance of Phantom Lord's guildhall. "My clone… what happened to it…" she muttered worriedly.

She left a clone behind in Magnolia with enough strength to protect team Shadow Gear. The possibility of members of Phantom Lord still lurking in Magnolia made her uneasy. She didn't want to risk leaving them unattended without a guard. That's how worried she was about them.

The clone would react to the presence of magic or if Lucy had called it.

And now she finds out that her clone was defeated?

She had a bad feeling about this.

Something then crashed down behind her. Everyone ceased their fighting and there were gasps. As the smoke cleared, everyone saw Master Makarov on the floor on his stomach while he panted against the floor.

"M-My magic power…" he managed the breathed out.

Loke, Natsu, Gray, Erza and Karissa rushed over since they were the closest to him.

Erza gently held him up, "Master, hang in there!"

"What happened?" Cana stared at their weakened Master.

"How could this happen… I don't sense any magic power from him at all!" Gray exclaimed with concern.

"No magic power…" Karissa muttered.

…

…

"One's magical powers are tied to one's life force." Makarov explained, "I imagine that something must have happened to them and their power depleted to the point where their life faded. There have been many cases like that in the past."

"Does the amount of magic power you have make a difference?" Van wondered. "Like, if you had a lot then could you still live?"

Makarov looked up at the ceiling as he thought about it. He nodded once. "I suppose. It's a bit different when the caster is the one expelling their magic power themselves compared to when their magic is drained. Those with more magic power in their bodies suffer more damage when their power gets drained all of a sudden."

…

…

Her eyes widened. Loosing magic power in a sudden swoop is the most damaging for mages with great amount of magic power. She always carried that with her since she was one of the mages who needed to be careful.

So… does that mean… Master Jose meant to kill him?

Karissa's hands clenched tightly. "That's going too far…!" she growled.

The Master of Phantom Lord allowed the attack on their guildhall and on three of its members. Now, he was trying to take the life of their Master? Evil. Despicable. Monster. She was getting angrier with each second that passed; she never thought she could feel this angry. The sounds around her started becoming fainter as she heard a weird ringing noise in her head. She could only barely hear Erza's muffled voice asking for their Master to hang on.

Her clone back in Magnolia was defeated.

Was Phantom Lord… trying to kill them?

Karissa raised her hand to her head until she heard something that made her stop all movement.

"Why don't we kill them?"

In an instant, Karissa lunged at the closest Phantom Lord member and gripped them by the neck before slamming them down on the floor. "Who the fuck said that?!" She screamed.

No death. No one was going to die.

They didn't seem afraid of her though, not after seeing Makarov in his weakened state. They were standing with renewed fighting spirit.

Karissa was surrounded by many enemies that Loke and Gray had to go to her and back her up, especially with how reckless she was acting. They must have said something to her to calm her down but she just didn't hear it. It was like she just saw red and she knew that she was landing so many vicious attacks on Phantom.

"Karissa! Calm down!" Loke covered her back but then had to guard against those behind him. He narrowed his eyes at their fierceness.

She wasn't careful. She understood that the moment she felt a magic attack strike her from behind which threw her against the floor.

"Karissa!" Gray exclaimed after giving payback to whoever did that. More of their members came to lessen Loke's burden when they saw Karissa receive a blow. Gray got down on one knee and helped her.

"Are you okay?"

"… Yeah, it hurts but I'll be okay." Karissa shook her head to shake her hair out of her face. "Sorry… I don't know what came over me…"

"It's understandable, but you need to be careful." Gray helped her stand up and made sure she was steady. "You gotta keep your cool."

Karissa stared at his serious gaze and then nodded softly.

But then, Erza called for a retreat, shocking everyone. Most were adamant on leaving after what just happened, but Titania was firm on her decision. If anyone else had the right to take authority after their Master, then it would be her. They had to retreat.

And so, they did, with a bitter taste in their mouth.

…

…

…

Van peeked into the house quietly which caught the attention of the three people inside.

"Van?" Alzack spoke and then watched him come inside.

"What are you doing here?" Bisca wondered.

The older mage smiled sheepishly, "I just wanted to hear Master's diagnostic—" he was cut off when a slap echoed in the house, making the three of them jolt in surprise.

Master Makarov was brought to Porlyusica in order to seek healing from the magic that struck him. However, they weren't expecting the healer of all people to just slap him in his state.

"What are you doing to the Master, I mean, the sick person?!" Bisca exclaimed.

Porlyusica just flexed her hand and put it back under her cloak. "This happened because he was too reckless for his age." She gave Makarov a look from the side. "Honestly, what a fool you are."

Then she looked at the three occupying her home. "How long do you plan on staying here?!" she barked. "Go home!"

Alzack quickly gathered himself and stood his ground. "Um, but… with the Master in this condition…"

"Please let us care for him!" Bisca finished, equally concerned as her friend.

"Maybe we can help?" Van offered.

"Go home. The stench of fretting faces is the greatest poison to a sick man." The pink haired woman sighed and looked back at her current patient, "This is from wind magic, isn't it? This is the work of the magic, Drain. A fearful magic that force's your opponent's magical power to flow out. The drained magical power drifts off into the air and soon dissipates. If we could gather Makarov's lost magical power, that would speed his recovery, however… It's already too late. His recovery will be prolonged…"

"In that case," Van walked closer to where the Master rested. "Can I offer mine to somehow speed it up?"

Porlyusica arched a brow at him. "… You're that boy with the abnormal amount."

"Uh… yeah," Van chuckled nervously, "That's me."

"Your magic power won't be enough to help him fully recover." She reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. But anything is better than nothing." Van held out his hands to show that he was ready to help in anyway that he can. "I can spare some magic power for our dear old Master."

The truth about Lucy's full identity was revealed.

It was after they return back to Magnolia under Erza's orders. Natsu had arrived a bit later with Lucy, who ended up being kidnapped by Phantom during the first wave, and she explained the reason why the war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail was occurring.

First, she started to explain how she got kidnapped in the first place. That's how Karissa found out her clone got destroyed.

Lucy Heartfilia. That was her name. She came from a rich family. But she decided to pack up and run away from home to live the life she wanted to live. However, her father finally pinpointed her location and decided to employ Phantom Lord's help in order to bring her home. According to her, her father never showed any sort of interest back when she still lived with him so she couldn't understand why he wanted her back all of a sudden after a full year.

Lucy screwed her eyes shut, "He's the worst!" her fisted hands trembled on her thighs. "But when you get down to it, it's originally my fault for running away from home, right?"

Elfman scowled with his arms crossed. "That's not true! Your father's the bad guy here—!" Karissa elbowed him on the side while Gray called him an idiot. "I-I mean, Phantom is!"

Karissa looked back at Lucy who continued to blame herself as she sat on the barrel.

"Thanks to my selfish actions, I've caused all this trouble for everyone. I'm really sorry. I guess if I went home, then all of this would end, right?"

"Don't blame yourself." Karissa finally spoke after a staying silent and just listening to her feel guilty. "I get it. You feel guilty because that's your father looking for you. But I don't think Phantom Lord had to go as far as wrecking our guildhall and hurting our members if they were tasked to take you from us." She tipped her head to the side. "They could have taken a more pacifist method by kidnapping you at night, that way no one would have gotten hurt. But instead, they chose to start a war with Fairy Tail… a more violent and difficult route. If you ask me, Phantom Lord is just using you as an excuse to start this war between guilds."

Elfman breathed a sigh of relief when Karissa finished her rational discourse. "Always count on Karissa to speak rationally…" he whispered to Gray. "Honestly, it's making me feel at ease."

Gray arched a brow at him.

"But…"

Karissa wasn't the best at providing encouraging or comforting words. The only thing she had that could help someone feel better were her rational thoughts on the situation.

Natsu grinned at Lucy. "And besides, the term 'lady' doesn't really suit you. You fit better in this dirty bar, laughing and merrily going out on adventures. You said you wanted to stay here, so what good would it do for you to return to a place you hate?"

Karissa nodded in agreement. "No one should stop you from doing what you want. And you have every right to stay here. Your father can't just drag you back home against your own will when he feels like it."

"Exactly." Natsu pointed at himself, specifically at his guild insignia, "This is your home to return to because you're Lucy of Fairy Tail."

Seriously. After all that talk, they weren't expecting Lucy to start crying.

"Don't cry…" Gray rubbed the back of his head, "It doesn't suit you."

The guys around Karissa started to panic at Lucy's tears meanwhile the black haired girl slipped away.

Yep. I don't know how to fix that. I'm not going anywhere near that.

Karissa observed the Mirajane and Cana's progress. They were currently trying to get in touch with the other S-Class mages of Fairy Tail for their help. She saw Cana throw her cards in frustration because she couldn't locate Mystogan meanwhile Laxus, who was being contacted via lacrima by Mirajane, was refusing to help them.

The black haired girl frowned when she heard Laxus laugh about Master Makarov's condition.

"This has nothing to do with me. Handle it yourselves. After all, the old man started this war. Why should I be the one to bail him out?"

Karissa walked closer to where Mirajane and Cana were as he continued to refuse.

Why do you have to be like this, Laxus?

Slowly, everything felt and sounded so distant.

Karissa's eyes narrowed and her hand touched her head.

Loke was leaning against a beam when Karissa walked past him. He eyed her carefully when she looked unsteady on her feet. Concern flooding his mind, he pushed himself off the beam to ask if she was alright until she suddenly fell down on the cobblestone without warning. Without delay, the ring user flew to her side and called her name as others started swarming them after hearing her thud.

"Karissa!" Lucy panicked.

"What happened to her?!" Cana's hands hovered above her body.

Gray turned her on her back and patted her face to try and wake her up. "Karissa! Wake up! What's wrong?"

Laxus, who heard the commotion, arched an annoyed brow since he was in the middle of taunting Mirajane and Cana. "The hell's going on over there?"

"Karissa suddenly fell unconscious…" Mirajane answered him while watching the others tend to her.

Laxus snorted mockingly. "The brat fainted? That's stupid."

It was no use. Karissa just wasn't responding to their voices.

"It must have been the attack from before." Loke guessed as he watched Gray pick her up in his arms since he couldn't just leave her on the floor. "I don't know what kind of spell it was, but it must have had a delay before taking effect."

Natsu growled with his fists shaking at his sides, "Damn them!"

"Damn it, at the worst time too." Gray adjusted her in his arms. Karissa's ability to predict situations and her endurance in battle were things that were necessary for this war. They needed all their members to use maximum force against Phantom Lord so having Karissa pass out was not in their favor.

For the mean time, she needed to stay somewhere—

A huge crashing sound shook the entire guild. Dust started to fall from the wood above them. What on earth was going on out there? Quickly, Gray went upstairs with Karissa in his arms only to find Phantom Lord's guild literally coming straight towards theirs. It had spider-like legs attached to it that helped it move across the water.

"What the hell…?!" Gray's eyes widened as it came closer.

Then it stopped.

Then one of the walls of the castle slid down to reveal a cannon extending outwards that pointed directly towards Fairy Tail. Magic energy began accumulating inside and then fired after a brief pause.

Erza shouted for everyone to get back as she ran to protect those behind her by requipping into a shielding type of armour. Pandora gritted her teeth and did the same until she stopped and slammed her hands on the ground, creating a shield of light that separated Fairy Tail from Erza.

"Van!" Pandora yelled urgently for her brother who wasted no time in listening to his sister.

With his Earth magic, he created made earth rise to create a wall behind the light barrier as a last line of defense.

Erza put her two shields together to try and block the magic fired by Phantom's cannon. But it was too powerful to block, even for her, causing her shield to break and rip her armour apart. The force of the magic blasted through the light shield and the walls of earth. As the ultimate line of defense, Van summoned up two more earth walls that was able to block the magic. The shockwave forced the three mages at least ten feet away in front of their members.

Van, who had given most of his magic power to Master Makarov, was now empty on fuel.

Erza had fallen.

Pandora was alright but she looked a bit tired from spending magic power on that shield of hers.

"Makarov has fallen. And now Erza can barely stand. You don't stand a chance." It was Master Jose's voice. "Hand over Lucy Heartfilia, right now."

However, despite what just happened, the guild refused to hand over their newest recruit and swore to keep on fighting if Phantom refused to back down.

"Then you'll get a second extra-large helping of Jupiter! Quiver in fear for the fifteen minutes it takes to charge!"

Erza was out of commission. Van was out of magic power. Pandora needed more power to create a shield strong enough to make up for Erza's absence. Plus, her Light magic was proving to be effective against the ghouls that Master Jose let out of his guild to attack them as they waited for the next Jupiter strike.

"Gray," Van called him and held out his arms, "Give me Karissa. I'll bring her to a safer place since I'm all out of magic anyway."

Gray nodded at the older brother, "Thanks." He handed her his childhood friend, "I'm going to help stop the Jupiter cannon from firing." He quickly said and then ran off with Elfman after Natsu who flew up to Phantom's guildhall with Happy.

…

…

…

Van decided to bring her home where she would be far away from the battle. He couldn't let her stay inside the infirmary on the first floor since she would be hit by the Jupiter cannon if Natsu, Gray and Elfman didn't succeed.

After shutting the door behind him, he gently laid her down on the couch and then sprinted upstairs for the medical kit just in case she had any wounds she didn't tell anyone about.

Unbeknownst to Van Sinclost, Karissa slowly awoke, revealing eyes that were different. Light purple like lavender to replace dark brown. Black replacing white.

She blinked slowly and lifted her hand to stare at her palm for a few seconds without saying anything.

But then her hand landed back on the couch, and her eyes closed to resume her unconscious state.

Chapter Text

A day after the conclusion of the war between the two light guilds, the Rune Knights of the Magic Council arrived in Magnolia after they caught wind of the conflict so they gathered up everyone for investigation.

Karissa awoke the next day after she fell unconscious and was asked to be brought to the Rune Knights' camp, that was located nearby, once she felt stable enough. She was surprised to see so many of her guild members walking in and out of tents to get their turn for questioning. It seemed like they were going to interrogate every single person in Fairy Tail, no exceptions.

After a long period of questioning, Karissa left the tent while feeling like all the air had just left her brain. They had really tried to squeeze information out of her in order to get the type of answers they wanted right after she woke up. She was grateful for the glass of water they gave her that she used as an excuse to take a breather.

"Karissa."

Stopping her walk, she looked around curiously when she heard Loke's voice calling out to her. He was leaving his own tent with a hand up to greet her.

"How was your interrogation?"

"Tiring." Karissa yawned into her hand tiredly since she was a bit groggy from both waking up and her interrogation, "What about you?"

"Meh, it was alright. By the way, how are you feeling?" he asked her when they walked together.

"I feel fine." She answered while stretching her arms, "I don't know what caused my comatose state but it doesn't feel like it has anymore effect. Sorry I couldn't help out with the battle." she rubbed her eyes to accelerate the process of waking up.

She really felt fine.

Her siblings told her what happened during the last hour of the fight. Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Lucy, Erza and Makarov were fighting inside while the rest were fighting off ghouls that Jose had sent out to keep them busy when they had to recharge the Jupiter cannon. Van couldn't fight after he depleted his magic power for Master Makarov and the protection of the guild when the cannon fired off the first time so he stayed by his little sister's side at home. Pandora stayed with the members in front of their guildhall since her light magic was more effective on the ghouls that were basically creatures of darkness.

Loke scrubbed the back of his head with a hum, "We guessed that you were hit with some nasty spell from a Phantom member since that was the only thing that actually hit you back then." He looked at her with concern written on his face, "You really okay? You don't feel any pain or side effects?" he patted his chest and stomach for emphasis, "Nothing bothering you?"

Karissa snickered and she shook her head while waving her hand dismissively, "I'm fine, Loke. Stop worrying so much."

The orange haired wizard raised a brow and dropped his hands to his sides, "Well, I had a front row seat of you falling down down on cobblestone. I think I have the right to worry a bit more."

"Sorry for traumatizing you." Karissa chuckled with a sarcastic grin, "But the only thing bothering me right now is the lack of food inside me. I'm hungry."

Of course, she was hungry. He was about to offer eating food together somewhere nearby, but Loke felt lightheaded and staggered forward. He dropped his head and placed a hand on his face which made Karissa stop and look back at him when he stopped walking next to her and she looked at him worriedly.

His eyes narrowed when he saw the ground blur a little.

Soon.

"Loke?" she walked over to him and peered at his face, "Are… you alright?"

The orange haired wizard's head shot up and faced the look of concern on his friend's face. He quickly gathered himself and smiled as he quickly reassured her, "I'm fine. I just felt lightheaded for second."

Karissa stared at him quietly and only gave him a weird look, "Maybe you should get that checked out or something. You sure you okay?"

Straightening up, Loke gave her a reassuring smile and said, "Just worry about yourself for now and take it easy, alright?" he patted her head. But when she opened her mouth to say something, he just swiveled around her and started rubbing her shoulders which rendered her quiet thanks to the pleasing sensation, causing Loke to laugh at her quick submission.

Gray quietly approached the two while they weren't aware. He was watching the two interact while making his way to them. It was no secret that Loke had refused to flirt with any female Sinclost because of Pandora herself so that made his interactions with them more amicable.

"Gray." Karissa waved at him lightly when she spotted him. Loke noted how her shoulders perked up at the sight of Gray who offered a quick smile and raised his hand to greet her back.

"You feeling okay?" he asked her when he stood in front of her.

Karissa did an affirmative sign with her hand while Loke moved away from her.

"Done with yours too?" Loke shoved his hands in his jacket's pocket.

"Yeah. Pretty annoying though, they kept repeating some questions I already answered." Gray rolled his eyes, "Trying to catch me in a lie."

"They were nice to me though." Karissa cocked her head to the side which only made Gray scowl.

"Then I must have had jerks for interrogators then."

Loke laughed at that and then sighed tiredly, "Well, you guys go on ahead. I have some stuff to take care of."

Not surprised, Karissa gave him an unimpressed look, "Lemme guess, a chick?"

"You got it, see ya." he literally dashed off after winking at her, leaving the childhood friends together.

Gray and Karissa stood side by side as Loke ran off to who knows where.

"That's weird." Gray scratched his head.

"No kidding."

They started walking again and made light conversation about how she was feeling physically and how others were doing until something cut them off.

Groowwl~

The dark haired guy stopped and turned his head to look at her with a grin, "That yours?"

Karissa rolled his eyes and crossed her arms, "No. Clearly, that was a cat in heat somewhere." She deadpanned, "Yes, that was mine. I'm frigging hungry."

Gray chuckled and started walking again, "Yeah, I can tell."

Karissa fell into step with him and shoved her hands in her sweater's pockets. She peered at him from the side and grinned sheepishly, "Wanna go eat somewhere? It's lunch time."

"Sure, I got nothing to do anyway."

"Can we drop by my house first? I just need to grab my wallet."

"How about you pay me back instead later?" he suggested so that they could go straight to whatever place they wanted to eat at. He laughed when he saw her look at him like he was some sort of saint.

"Okay." She looked ahead, "Thanks, Gray."

"Where do you wanna go?"

"Noodles!" she answered rapidly with enthusiasm as she was now awake by the prospect of free (sort of) food.

"Again?!" Gray raised his voice in surprise, "We went there last time."

"But it's good! Plus, you asked me so I answered."

"C'mon, don't you want to eat something different?"

"Fine, where do you want to go." Karissa pouted, giving the reins to Gray who just smiled happily at her resignation, "Follow me."

Karissa scoffed and patted his shoulder, "If it's trash, I'm not paying you anything."

Gray huffed and nudged her on the side, causing her grin, and said, "Don't be like that."

"Hey," Karissa scoffed with a shrug, "I haven't eaten in a long while, the least you could do is help me get some tasty food."

"Yeah, alright, you dummy."

She spent the next two hours hanging out with Gray before heading home where her sister and brother were expecting her with worry for not telling them where she was going after recently waking up from her comatose state.

Karissa participated in meetings that were held to decide how to rebuild the guild. Master Makarov decided they should completely rebuild it with a new design instead of keeping the old one. It would seem appropriate considering how the building was made during the First Master's era. Max was more than willing to participate since he and Karissa could finally implement the Souvenir Shop that they were working on.

Soon, the blueprints of the new guildhall were finalized and the construction work began a week later.

Pandora was kind enough to make some food for the guild since they would all be hard at work. Van and Karissa were surprised at the buffet that randomly appeared for everyone which made them question how the hell was Pandora able to make all the food in such a short amount of time. That was a secret they were never going to understand.

At some point during the first week of construction, Lucy returned home for personal reasons which made Erza, Natsu, Happy, Gray and Karissa chase after her out of concern. But they were relieved to find out that Lucy was only visiting home.

Sure, Lucy's sudden disappearance surprised her and it worried her since she was slowly becoming friends with the blonde mage. However, her attention was focused on Loke who was looking even worse as the days passed. He looked pale, sluggish and just weak. But he was quick to reassure everyone that he was fine and that he would get better. True to his words, he did look normal a few days later. Still, it never completely erased Karissa's concern for him since he kept acting a little strange.

After another week, the job request board was finally up and running again much to everyone's relief and excitement. The lack of jobs and money and just doing construction work made so many members impatient to finally start working again.

…

…

…

"Try saying that again!"

Karissa was sitting somewhere with Cana and Van when Natsu got hit by a table that Erza had flung.

The black haired girl bit the corner of her lip when she saw how furious Erza and Pandora were. She stopped listening to her music and just held her headphones when she was hearing how mean and disrespectful Laxus was being about his guild members.

"Then I'll say it more clearly," Laxus snorted and leaned on his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, "this guild doesn't need weaklings!" he turned to look at Shadow Gear who were standing not too far away behind him, "I'm talking about you, you! I don't even know your names, but I heard you that you guys were beaten up by Kurogane Gajeel? Disgraceful."

Cana gripped her mug angrily at that, "That bastard…"

"Annoying." Van clicked his tongue with a sourly look.

Laxus stood up and looked at Lucy, "And you there, the main culprit, the debutant Celestial Wizard, isn't this all your fault?"

Pandora clicked her tongue and shoved him back with her hand. Laxus snickered in amusement as he stepped back a few steps and stared down at the girl who didn't feel intimidated by him in the slightest

"The fuck is your problem? Why does shit always keep flying out of your mouth every time you open it? Is that the only thing your garbage mouth is good for?" Pandora glared darkly at him. "You weren't even there to help so you don't get to talk shit and blame others."

Laxus grinned and leaned closer to her face, "Well, duh! Of course, it doesn't concern me! But if I were there, I wouldn't get beaten up like the weaklings here."

Pandora's eye twitched. She never liked his new attitude. Every time he was around, he just seemed to be more proficient at his talent of pissing her off with his arrogant talk. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Natsu came flying at Laxus with a punch but Laxus teleported behind him in a flash of lightning.

"Laxus! Fight me!" Natsu yelled, "You heartless bastard!"

The blond lightning user let out a mocking laugh, "What kind of fight would it be when you can't even catch me? When I inherit the guild, I'll get rid of all the weaklings. As well as anyone who stands against me! I'll make the ultimate guild! The strongest guild in history that no one can look down upon!"

Pandora scoffed and crossed her arms, "When you inherit the guild, you'll be the one to drag Fairy Tail in the dirt with your tyrannical rule. Think anyone here will be willing to listen to your nonsense?"

She was speaking for everyone.

"Watch it." Laxus tutted and give her a smirk, "Keep up that attitude and you'll be the first one to go."

"Fuck you." she spat.

Laxus snorted and gave her a look, "Yeah, no thanks." He waved his hand dismissively before walking off and disappearing in a flash of lightning. His departure immediately cooled the tension in the air and the others resumed their conversations.

Karissa saw some of her guild members try to cheer up Shadow Gear who were looking down after Laxus' words.

Crack!

Dark brown eyes blinked in surprise. She looked down and found her maroon headphones with a crack on the side. Worried, Karissa inspected her headphones and analyzed the damage and possible damage it might cause from any strained movement.

It's really worn out…

She knew that they were worn out and were ready to get replaced, but her maroon headphones held a special place in her heart. Laxus used to be nice even though he liked to act all cool and pretend like he didn't care. He had bought her the headphones for her birthday even though he insisted that it was because she wouldn't stop stealing his to listen to music. He could pretend that he didn't care all he wanted, but she would never forget the relieved look on his face when she excitedly thanked him with a beaming smile. She hugged him since she was so happy to have her own but he ended up lightly pushing her away before walking off in a hurry.

To her, the headphones weren't only just a gift but also a symbol of their friendship.

Even though her headphones were presently worn out and now cracked, she would never throw it out due to its sentimental value.

Karissa exhaled softly and rubbed her thumbs against it.

"That took less time than I thought." Erza put away her sword.

"Damn right! I needed a longer chance to go wild!" Natsu complained.

"I think you went plenty wild enough…" Gray rolled his eyes.

"Ehh... I thought it seemed like a good job that was challenging… guess not." Karissa scratched her cheek with her finger.

Gray patted Karissa's head with his hand with a sigh, "The job you picked was fine. It's just that this idiot isn't normal."

The pink haired mage twitched, "Shut up, you icy freak!"

Before Gray could retort, Erza suggested that they head to nearby town to check in for the night and then return home to Magnolia in the morning which Natsu was unhappy about since the job was unsatisfying.

Karissa looked to the side when caught something in her peripheral vision. The familiar dark green jacket and orange hair. It was Loke. Without saying anything, Karissa jogged away from her group and went to approach Loke who turned in her direction when he heard her footsteps. He smiled gently at her when she came closer.

"Oh, Karissa… and you guys too?"

Gray tilted his head when he walked after her with his hands in his pockets, "Huh, what a coincidence."

"You had a job around here?" Natsu grinned when he followed suit.

"Yeah. You, too?"

"How are you feeling?" Karissa peered at his face to try and see if he looked healthy, making him lean back from how close she was. The orange haired wizard just smiled softly at her concern and patted her shoulders, "I'm telling you, I'm fine. Stop worrying."

Karissa lowered her head, "Sorry." She mumbled slightly embarrassed, thinking she was pestering him. She didn't want to seem annoying even though she was worried. Maybe she should really drop it after all.

When Loke saw the brief downcast look on her face, it made him gently push her head up with a finger, "But I appreciate your concern."

"Okay." She averted her eyes, "Sorry for asking too much…"

Loke laughed and just rubbed her head which made Gray blink and then arch a brow at the gesture.

All of a sudden, Loke's hand flew off Karissa's head as if it burned and he backed away in fright when he spotted someone walking closer to him, "Lucy?!" he gasped and recoiled away when she came even closer.

"This is perfect!" Lucy smiled at him, "I wanted to thank you for—"

"Sorry, I'm in the middle of a job!" he quickly said before running away at full speed, leaving a cloud of smoke behind him. A single leaf blew in the wind as the others watched him became a dot of green in the distance.

…

…

"What is with him?!"

"He was fine just now..." Karissa trailed off and gave Lucy a side look, insinuating something.

Gray looked at her oddly, "Yeah, so, what did you do to him?"

"I haven't done anything!"

…

…

…

Karissa wasn't exactly fond of being naked in front of other people even if they were of the same gender. When she was younger, she and Cana agreed that it would be weird to bathe with others. However, the latter seemed to have no problem with it once she grew older, leaving Karissa in the same position on her own.

It just felt so weird and Karissa wasn't even sure if could relax even if she wanted to.

She was planning on using the hot spring once the other girls were done so she could be alone but Erza thought it would be much better if they went together so she helped Karissa join Lucy and her.

Help as in force.

Presently, Karissa was situated far away from the other girls and kept her knees up to her chest while hiding most of her face behind her arms.

"… Um, Karissa." Lucy spoke from afar, "You don't have to be so far away."

Karissa frowned behind her arms and tucked her legs even tighter towards her, "I'm fine over here." she replied loud enough for her to hear.

"A…Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh."

The scarlet haired mage sighed at her withdrawn behaviour, "What's there to be shy about? We're all naked in here."

Karissa scratched the back of her head awkwardly and simply answered that she was never really fond of bathing with other people. It also must have been because of how really shy she used to be during her mid-teenage years. She felt more comfortable concealing her skin away from eyes much like how she used to stay in her own corner when she felt too introverted and shy to join others. Sure, she became a bit less introverted and she was doing a better job at being less timid as she aged, but old habits die hard.

"Think of it as bonding time as a team!" Lucy offered to try and ease her nerves since she figured that Karissa wasn't quite comfortable around her specifically since she was a new member, "Let's talk about stuff."

Sensing the intention behind Lucy's words, Erza nodded and smiled at Karissa, "She's right. Come over and talk."

Karissa stared at them quietly, then her gaze skittered away, "… Okay." she resigned, not wanting to be mean and refuse.

Lucy did a fist pump underneath the water. Then she sweat dropped at how Karissa was crawling while trying her best to keep most of her body underneath the water. It was an amusing sight. It made Lucy laugh inwardly. Karissa, Lucy and Erza huddled together and sat in a small triangle to talk. Lucy, who was determined to get her teammate to open up to her, suggested they talked about themselves. A good topic that everyone could participate in.

"Things I like? I suppose collecting weapons and new armour for my inventory would be one of my likes." Erza said with a hand under her chin before smiling, "Strawberry cake as well."

"Strawberry cake?" Lucy repeated in surprise, "I figured you'd be a vanilla type of person."

"I like vanilla cake." Karissa quietly added.

"That's pretty basic of you." Lucy grinned to try and evoke a reaction out of her which successfully worked since Karissa puffed out air and lightly pouted, "Cana says the same thing. Vanilla cake is the best, you can't change my mind."

Lucy giggled at that and then looked up at the moon, "Things I like… well, I like books and my celestial spirits."

"That explains how you get a long well with Levy." Erza realized, "Having things in common helps build friendships."

Lucy nodded, "Yeah. That's how we got started talking."

"Is that why you're writing about the adventures of Iris?" Karissa grinned.

Upon hearing the name of her fictional main character, Lucy flushed and looked away in embarrassment, "P…Pretty much, haha…"

"So, did you want to be writer then?" Karissa tipped her head curiously.

"Well, I mean, it was just a hobby, but Levy-chan was the one who suggested I try publishing it… so maybe? Not sure though."

"If you do end up publishing it, I'd like to read it someday." Erza said earnestly since she also read books in her spare time, just not as much as Levy.

"We'll see," Lucy smiled at that, feeling a little bashful by Erza's intention to read while also feeling slightly pressured since someone like Erza was going to be reading it. The blonde haired girl turned her head to look at the black haired girl who seemed more comfortable compared to a few minutes ago, "So, Karissa, what do you like?"

Karissa pursed her lips and her eyes looked upward for a moment before replying, "I like drawing stuff."

Interested in this new fact, Lucy leaned closer to her curiously, "That's right. You were drawing at my place one time." She remembered, "I never really looked at it though since we were discussing about Phantom Lord. How long have you been drawing?"

Karissa's eyes shifted upwards while she raked through her memories, digging to find the approximate time of when she loved drawing, "Well... kids draw for fun when they're little, but I remember drawing a lot back when I was seven or eight I guess."

"So, you have years of practice."

Karissa shrugged, "Yeah."

Erza placed a hand on Karissa's head who looked at her in wonder. The scarlet haired woman looked proud as if she was hearing compliments about her child's achievements, "Karissa is a talented artist. It's a known fact in the guild. And, most of the time, the guild asks her for her help when design is involved."

"I'm not really that talented…"

Erza slipped her hand back in the bathwater, "You're too humble."

"Really? Well, you have to show me some of your drawings next time!" Lucy smiled at her, "I'd definitely want to take a look."

Karissa tilted her head with a smirk, "Sure, but can I read your manuscript?"

"What? Oh come on, you already know I promised Levy-chan that she would be the first one to read it."

"Oof, then no drawings for you then."

It was in the tone of Karissa's voice. It was a playful tone. But Lucy played along and pouted childishly at the sight of Karissa's innocent grin gracing her face until Erza lightly knocked her on the back of her head and called her out for being silly. The black haired girl only chuckled softly.

The blonde haired mage sighed inwardly in relief when she saw Karissa become more lax around her.

She just needed a little nudge.

After tying the yukata tight enough around her waist, Karissa tiredly walked to the room where her teammates were staying at in the inn. She left the hot spring earlier since she was getting drowsy plus she wasn't in the mood to drown in hot water by staying in there longer. Being an ice mage also might have been a reason why she didn't want to stay in there longer.

Quietly, she slid the door open and found Gray setting up his futon.

"Going to bed already?" Karissa closed the door behind her.

"Yeah. I'm super sleepy right now." Gray yawned and went to grab himself a pillow. When he turned around, he found his friend just laying on top of his futon like she just dropped on it which made him groan when he walked back.

"Make your own bed." He complained while prodding her side with his foot, "Come on, get off. I'm tired."

She squirmed and smacked his foot away and just rolled onto her back while still occupying his futon and gave him a pleading smile while pointing at the corner where the futons were, "Can you get me one?"

Gray deadpanned which made her laugh in amusement like a little kid. She held up her hands and put them in a praying motion, "Pleaaase?" she squeezed her eyes shut. The dark haired guy didn't reply and just picked up the edge of his cover and proceeded to roll her off his futon, making her yelp, and then was about to slip inside until Karissa started fighting him over the futon.

"The hell, look at all this energy you got! Go get your own!" Gray was pushing her away when she tried to slip under the blanket.

"Nah, don't feel like it." Karissa cackled and started pushing him back, "And I thought you were sleepy! If you have energy to get all pushy then you can be nice enough to set up a futon for me!"

"You lazy idiot!" Gray poked her sides to try and get her to jerk away from him and off his futon. She wasn't the type to start exploding in laughter but it certainly did coax out reactions that got her to move away whenever she got poked there. He mercilessly jammed his index fingers onto her sides which got her to constantly recoil and try to keep his hands at bay. Even so, she refused to give up.

At this point they were wrestling for the bed.

Gray Fullbuster proved to be the victor of their little wrestle after her successfully dragged her away from his futon and pinned her to the floor. He smirked at the look of annoyance on her face when he stared down at her. He had her hands pinned next to her head while he straddled her, leaving no chance for her to wiggle her way out.

"I'm super sleepy right now." Karissa mocked him childishly, "My ass." She deadpanned.

"Hey, you started it." Gray reminded flatly, "I'm just finishing it so I can go to bed." He leaned his face closer enough for the tip of his hair to tickle the tip of her nose, smirking triumphantly, "So, get your own."

A little peeved by his smirk, Karissa stuck her tongue out like a child, "Alright, fine. Get off you, big ape." Karissa tried to throw him on the floor while he took his time getting off her but failed which made him laugh at her attempt.

Karissa went to grab herself a futon while he made himself comfortable in his. She dropped it next to his and then quietly crawled into her futon once she set her pillow down for her head. Gray was on his side facing the other door that wasn't the entrance one. She also faced that way and ended up facing his back since she didn't want to be facing the entrance. Showing vulnerability openly wasn't something she liked doing except if it was in front of Gray and her siblings.

...

...

When Gray was letting his mind think about random details of his daily life to help him fall asleep, he remembered the events of the current day and then paused when he recalled the moment they ran into Loke after they raided the castle where the thieves were hiding in.

And then the nearly frantic look on Loke's face when she passed out right in front of him during the guild war flashed in his mind followed by the gestures that Loke did today.

Gray's eyes opened slowly and he stared at the back door in front of him.

I wonder…

Loke definitely cared about Karissa.

Did he care about her like a sister? A close friend? How did he see her? He wasn't sure.

But there was one thing he was sure of though. If Loke was somehow trying to court his childhood friend (despite Pandora's threats), then the ring user had another thing coming. Sure, Gray was good friends with Loke, but if his friend thinks he could string along Karissa's heart like the other girls he had dancing around in the palm of his hand then he had another thing coming.

Gray sighed softly to himself and just closed his eyes again. If Loke wasn't showing any signs of interest in her then he shouldn't be wasting his time worrying about it anyway. He should just sleep-

"Hey, Gray. Don't you think Loke's been acting a little strange lately?" she suddenly asked him after a moment of silence.

Gray opened his eyes again and frowned a little, "Yeah." He replied after thinking back, "He's been showing up at the guild less and less and sometimes he looks a little pale."

That pretty much summed up his current behaviour after the Phantom Lord incident.

"Do you think he's sick or something?" Karissa wondered curiously while staring blankly at Gray's back. After a moment of silence, Gray shifted around until he was on his back, making her blink and look up at his face when he looked at her with a quizzical look.

"You care about him that much?"

"Of course, I care." Karissa scowled at him, feeling slightly offended by his question, "He's our friend. Plus," she rubbed her eye, "when I go on jobs with Loke, he always makes sure I'm alright. Can't I worry about him the same way he does for me?"

It almost feels like I have to honestly.

That was the first time he was hearing this. Was she implying that the two were closer than what they let on at the guild?

His eyes watched her carefully to try and read anything on her face that gave away something. But he only saw genuine care and worry for their guildmate. He scratched his head and heaved out a breath, "I don't know. Maybe he's going through a rough patch right now that he needs to deal on his own." He dropped his hand down, "He knows that he can rely on us if things get too much, so I wouldn't worry too much, alright?"

"… Hm. So, guy problems, maybe?"

"It's possible."

Karissa scratched the itch on her nose, "Hmm..."

"Just go to sleep for now." He took her cover and throwing it over her head before turning around to face away from her again, "Don't worry yourself to sleep. 'Night."

Karissa scoffed, "Fine. Goodnight."

…

…

…

As the silence enveloped the two ice mages, they were slowly getting closer to the realm of sleep until the door slid open with a loud noise followed by an excited shout.

Annoyed, Gray's eyes opened, again, and he propped himself up on his arm to look over his shoulder. He groaned at the sight. It was Natsu. He saw Karissa frowning with her eyes closed and she pulled the covers above her head as she nuzzled her face into her pillow. The two ice mages wanted to sleep and Natsu was not helping.

"What's with all the racket? We're trying to sleep here!" Gray sat up in his futon.

"Hey, look around you! We're at an inn!"

Karissa groaned and tossed the covers away from her face to shoot Natsu an annoyed stare while he excitedly called for a pillow fight. He was so loud.

"Don't you want to sleep?" Karissa whined tiredly, "Go get a futon and sleep, it's comfy in here." she sat up and patted the futon.

The pink haired mage only pouted, "No way, we gotta have a pillow fight! That's just how it goes!" he grinned evilly, "And I say we start by taking down Erza!"

The scarlet haired woman smirked with a confident stance with several pillows under her arms, Karissa and Gray had no idea when she entered the room, and Lucy stood behind her with an uneasy smile.

"Well, I have already secured all of the best pillows. You stand no chance!"

Karissa recoiled her head with a bewildered look when she saw Erza armed with most of the pillows in the room but then gasped when she found a speeding pillow flying in her direction, causing her to quickly lay back down to dodge which made it slam into Gray's face behind her. Karissa whipped her head in Gray's direction when she heard the sound of impact, it sounded like a brick just hit him in the face.

Karissa sat up and snickered at him, "Whoaaa…"

"Natsu!" Gray hollered angrily, "Why you…!" he quickly shot up and picked up his pillow, making his yukata fall off his right shoulder until his right arm was out, and launched back the pillow at the fire mage's face with the same intensity.

Natsu fell on his back with a yell. This made Gray grin, fully energized by seeing his enemy fall like an idiot, and he snatched Karissa's pillow who yelled at him.

"Erza, you're next!"

"THE HELL GRAY! THAT'S MINE!"

Her pillow flew towards the scarlet haired mage who easily caught his throw, "Not bad!"

"Imma just go in the corner and grab another pillow." Karissa sighed and slowly started to get up until a pillow hit her like brick and forced her to knock Gray on his back when she stumbled into him.

"HAHAHA! TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE!"

"Aye sir!"

It was Natsu.

Sleepiness was sent to oblivion; the female ice mage was now fired up.

"Damn you, fire-breather!"

"You wanna go?!" Karissa snatched the pillow off the floor with an annoyed glare and then pitched it back at Natsu with full force, knocking him out of the room. With almost an animalistic instinct, she turned around and caught two pillows that were thrown at her by Erza who looked impressed as if she just blocked one of her magic swords.

"Take this!" Karissa shouted and hauled it back at Erza who nimbly leaped away, causing Gray to end up on the receiving end since he was trying to sneak up on Erza from behind. The baffled look on his face when the pillow slid off his face made Karissa muffle her laughter in her sleeve.

"I'll get you back for that, Karissa!" Natsu warned as he reeled his arm back, making her cease her laughter.

"Oh yeah?" Karissa dodged his pillow and rolled to the side where another pillow was and then kicked it up to smack him square in the face.

"GAH!"

"Nice kick!" Gray laughed as he launched a pillow at Natsu with Erza.

Seeing her teammates having fun together, Lucy pulled up her sleeve with a fun grin and said, "Maybe I'll mix it up myself!"

The four other mages who were locked in a pillow battle immediately directed their gaze towards Lucy like as if they detected an easy prey. Four pillows were homing in her direction which literally sent her flying out of the room of the inn after she got hit.

Karissa was in her room organizing her drawings in a corner. She was throwing away some drafts while setting aside the final designs for the Souvenir Shop that she and Max were working on. He told her to start choosing the ones she deemed good enough so that they could decide together which ones were going to be for sale. She was a little nervous but excited at the same time since most of her ideas were going to be displayed for everyone to see.

The ice mage dropped the papers on her bed and arched her back in discomfort.

"God…" she rubbed her back.

Last night's pillow fight was really something. They collapsed in exhaustion after a good hour and half. Erza was the victor of their battle, leaving the three other participants to feel the damage the next day. She didn't look as bad as Natsu and Gray since they were literally at each other's throats. Those two somehow branched off into their own little battle near the end. They had freaking bandages.

The last blow that Karissa received felt like she got pelted in the back by some gold bars.

The doorbell rang throughout the house. She stopped rubbing her back and went downstairs at her own pace to check the door after sitting there and contemplating if she should move or not. To her surprise, she found Loke on other side when she looked into the peephole.

Confused about his sudden appearance, she opened the door softly and peeked at him. He jumped a little when he saw her. The door opened wider for her to fully reveal herself.

"Hey, Loke. What's up?"

He looks well today. So, that's fine.

The orange haired mage opened his jacket and reached for his inner pocket to pull out a thin little novel, "Van lent this to me a couple of weeks ago and I forgot to return it." He said sheepishly while holding it out to her, "You mind giving this for me, Karissa?"

"Huh? Oh, um, sure." She took it from him and stared at it for a second to try and remember a time she saw her brother reading this little novel.

Groowwwwl~

Karissa sighed while Loke blinked.

"You didn't eat lunch yet?"

"Nah, I got too absorbed in my drawings so I forgot."

Loke peeked at the clock in her house to make sure he remembered the current approximate time, "It's way past lunch time."

"Then I guess I'll skip." Karissa joked while shrugging with her hands, "Dinner should be soon if I wait a couple of more hours."

She expected him to shake his head and call her silly like the last time he found out she forgot to eat but instead he sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders, catching her off guard, and he looked at her seriously from behind those usual shades he wore on his face.

"You need to take care of yourself."

The girl blinked, "… Huh?"

He held her shoulders tighter and looked down, away from her eyes, and continued, "… You have to take care of yourselves. You, Van and Pandora. Keep surrounding yourself around people like Gray, Natsu and Erza, don't always be alone. And be more confident in yourself."

Where was all of this coming from?

She gripped the novel tighter in her hands, "… What? Wait, Loke, what are you talking about… like… huh?" she said quite stupidly. The ice mage couldn't understand where he was coming from by suddenly spouting all these words. There was no hint or reason as to why he would suddenly tell her all of this.

The ring user then pulled his hands away from her after poking her in the forehead and then sighed with a tired smile, he shrugged with his hands, "You can barely take care of yourself so someone has to tell you or else you won't get it."

The sound of his playful tone made her scowl in response.

"You telling me I can't take care of myself? I'm not some hopeless case!"

"Your words not mine."

"Ahh, get out of here already and go hit on a girl or something!" Karissa lightly raised her leg to kick him away but he easily stepped away with a laugh.

"Fine, fine. Go eat something!" Loke left her property with a cheerful smile. He looked okay and he seemed like in a good mood, it gave away nothing not all.

That's why she was shocked several hours later when Cana came into to her house to announce to the Sinclost family that Loke had left Fairy Tail. Everyone in Fairy Tail was desperately searching around town for any sign of him as the word spread. Apparently, Loke had left a letter at the guild that told of his departure from the guild and there was no reason why he decided to leave. That's what got everyone so concerned for him and was hoping to figure out why he would suddenly leave after acting strange.

Pandora ran into Karissa when they were running down the street.

"Did you find him?" Pandora panted.

"No." Karissa sighed and rubbed her face, feeling the exhaustion of his search, "No one can find him. I ran into Shadow Gear on the way here and they said the same."

Pandora groaned and placed her hands on her knees as she tried to slow her breathing, "That guy… he acts all strange for several days and then he disappears from Fairy Tail. What's going on with him?" the taller girl wondered worriedly.

"Hey." Van's voice shouted nearby followed by running footsteps. The two sisters turned and found Van looking at them with frown on his face. That wasn't a good sign. He came over and told them how no one had seen him.

Loke had really vanished.

Karissa, Van and Pandora returned home together after another fifteen minutes of searching. There was no point in running all over the place at night when they were tired. Tomorrow was another chance to search so they left it at that. Obviously, other members chose to stay out longer to continue the search for Loke but it wouldn't be long until they would decide to retire as well.

Loke, where did you go?

Karissa thought it would take a few days before they could track down Loke based on how there was no sign of him anywhere. However, when she asked Levy, who passed her by on the way to the guild, about any updates, the petite girl smiled and reassured her that everything was alright because Lucy found him and brought him back. Hearing this, Karissa quickly went inside the construction area which was currently the Fairy Tail guildhall and, indeed, found the orange haired guy standing there with Gray, Lucy and Natsu.

She was just in time to see Natsu and Gray looking shocked with stars in their eyes as they held tickets up to their faces.

"What's going on?" Karissa wondered in confusion when she saw Natsu getting all hyped up with Happy.

Gray grinned stupidly and waved his ticket in front of her face, "Loke just gave us some tickets for a crazy luxurious beach hotel." Karissa's eyes followed the waving ticket and was able to read that it was a ticket for Akane Resort.

Karissa felt a hand on her shoulder, which spooked her a little, and she found Loke handing her one from behind, "This one is yours."

"Wait… what's the occasion?" Karissa slowly took it from him and then whirled around to look at him, "Wait, wait, what happened last night?! I thought you disappeared. Tell me please because I'm lost over here."

"Uh, yeah. Long story short, Loke's here is the celestial spirit Leo." Lucy summarized for her while sitting on a chair, "He's contracted to me now."

…

…

…

"Wait, what the fuck."

Loke pinched her nose for that cuss which made her slap his hand away with a bewildered look. "Wait, so yesterday when you dropped by my house... What," she tipped her head and narrowed her eyes at him, "were you saying goodbye to me or something? Because I still didn't get it."

"What's there not to get? I just told you to take care of yourself." the lion spirit smirked.

"He liiiiikes you." Happy snickered on the side, making her shoot him an unamused side glance.

"No, Happy's right." Loke shrugged with a smile.

Lucy sputtered her water that she was drinking. Gray looked up from his ticket. Natsu just blinked. And Karissa stared at Loke weirdly.

"Huh?"

"I like you very much." Loke ruffled her hair, confusing her even more, "Always have."

"What?" Gray lowered his ticket.

"L-Loke?!" Lucy wiped her mouth.

"I was right?!" Happy gaped.

"Huh?" Natsu tilted his head.

Seconds after he said those words, Karissa remembered the times when she would go with Loke on a job. He treated her well with respect. He once shooed away a sleazy drunkard that tried to talk to her when they were looking for an inn. He also made sure she didn't have any injuries after a battle. He always had her back and was always nice to be around, a slightly different attitude compared to the one he had towards other girls.

Along with those memories, she remembered his words from yesterday before he disappeared from Fairy Tail.

Before anyone could say anything, Loke quickly tore down their building conclusions with a quick, "Oh, but not romantically." He laughed lightly before smiling at her happily, "You giving me a white pollen flower as a child was enough to make you precious to me." He admitted with a bit of embarrassment while the others were surprised to hear this, "So, it'd be kinda weird to flirt with someone I knew as a kid."

"Wait, how old are you dude?!" Natsu scratched his head.

"Don't think, it hurts to watch." Gray cringed when he saw Natsu scrunch his face.

"Spirits don't exactly age Natsu." Lucy sighed.

Karissa, who was rendered speechless for a while, quickly snapped out of it, "Wait, you knew me as a kid?! Is that why you always acted like some sort of guardian-brother with me?"

"You got it."

Gray hummed in realization and shoved his hands in his pants' pockets, "I was wondering why you looked so freaked out when she passed out."

"Hey, can you tell me more?" Karissa grabbed his arm excitedly, wanting to hear a piece of history that she didn't remember. As much as Loke enjoyed her eagerness for story time, Loke shook his head in apology, "I have to go back to the Celestial Spirit World and rest. I've been out for far too long."

Karissa instantly released him in a slight panic since she figured that's why he looked sick before, "Oh, okay. Get out of here then." She made a shooing motion with her hands which made Lucy and Loke sweat drop.

"Not exactly the nicest way of telling me to go home but okay. In the future, I promise I'll tell you more about it when I get the chance." Loke said before disappearing to the Celestial Spirit World.

"Okay, grandpa." was all Karissa able to say with a grin before he completely vanished.

Lucy felt Loke's key shine in her hand and then she laughed lightly, she turned to Karissa and waved Loke's key, "Loke said he's taking offense to that."

Feeling satisfied for being able to get the last word in, Karissa just sat down on a chair and took out her ticket so she could look at it closely for herself. Her eyes were focused on the piece of paper but her mind wasn't.

I don't remember him at all. It must have been before I became friends with Gray.

Maybe if he tells me about our history, I'll be able to remember a piece of it.

I just hope it isn't anything embarrassing because I really don't want Loke rubbing that shit in my face.

Oh, who am I kidding? I was a little hyper growing up, I must have done at least something stupid.

Karissa rubbed her hand on her face, "Oh well."

Chapter Text

…

…

…

When they got to Akane Beach, they first went to enjoy the amusement park. There was much screaming from Lucy, Natsu, Karissa and Gray (as well as groaning and moaning from Natsu). Erza managed to conceal her screams even when she was caught by surprise. After enjoying some of the rides at the amusement park, they all decided to head to the beach. Karissa, who had been reluctant to go, was eventually convinced by Lucy. It was almost mostly because she didn't want them to change their plans if everyone couldn't enjoy their time together.

When Karissa admitted that she didn't own a swimwear, Lucy accompanied her to the shop that sold some since Lucy had spotted the store when they were checking in.

After considering the price and ease when it came to wearing it, Karissa chose a tankini: black shorts and a bright blue top. It seemed easier than trying to make sure she tied bikini strings properly and stressing about whether or not they would fall off. Honestly, she'd rather wear a whole one piece but they only had some for children.

With a towel wrapped around her like a cape, she steadily walked on the sand while keeping her gaze on floor. The flipflops she bought were comfy.

Feels weird to show this much skin…

Unlike the other ice mage, she wasn't a fan of showing off her skin to the people of the world.

"Hey guys!" Natsu yelled before pointing at a boat, "Let's try that!"

Karissa followed his gaze and found a boat speeding in the water while two people were lying down on a flat looking floater. They were being dragged while they held a rope attached to the boat. Seeing the speed and hearing the amusement coming from the two made Karissa eyes lit up a little. She wanted to try that.

"Looks fun." Erza nodded with a smile, "Let's ask for a turn."

Gray smirked when he saw the silent wanting on her face. Her hands were even gripping the towel around her in excitement. He could understand her excitement so he said, "Karissa and I call shotgun on the first ride!"

Karissa gaped at him in surprise, "Huh?! Wait… I didn't even—"

"What! No way, man! I saw it first!" Natsu argued, "Me and Happy goes first!"

"Yeah, but you didn't say shotgun." Gray deadpanned.

"Oh, great…" Lucy sighed, "Not again…"

In the end, Erza and Lucy got to try it first. Gray and Karissa were second which only made Natsu sulk. But he quickly recovered considering how he was shouting with Happy when it was their turn.

The whole day was an absolute blast.

…

…

"Being down here is better than staying up there, right?"

"I guess it is kinda fun down there…"

"You need to loosen up every now and then."

"I was 'loosening' up in my room."

"…"

Karissa narrowed her eyes at the look he gave her. "Gray, no. I didn't mean it like that."

He held her stare a little which made her roll her eyes, before chuckling in amusement. "That's different. That's called taking a nap."

Karissa shrugged next to Gray as they walked away from the card game they just finished playing. They were heading to the counter to grab something to drink.

Earlier, Gray woke her up from her nap to ask her if she wanted to hang out downstairs and play some games. He told her he would teach her how to play. Since she had nothing else to do, she agreed and got dressed fast while he just waited outside. He didn't have to wait too long since she was pretty quick when it came to get dressed. She just plucked out the clothes that her sister insisted she packed.

She wore an outfit that consisted of a white shirt with a plain navy blazer that had sleeves that stopped mid-forearm, and black fitted pants, and some black slip-on shoes. It was a nice get up she was comfortable with. She also wore a blue moon pendant.

When they were seated and waiting for their ordered drinks, they heard someone familiar yelling about a machine being unfair to him. It was Natsu, obviously. Karissa and Gray peeked over their shoulder and searched for him. They found him and Happy complaining to one of the staff.

"Sheesh, they're so immature." Gray raised a brow with a sweat drop as he continued to watch the two throw a tantrum.

Karissa snickered and waved her hand dismissively. "Let them be. Natsu and Happy have never played roulette before."

He turned his head to look at her. "Neither have you." He pointed out. "But I didn't see you throw a tantrum like that."

She gave him a lopsided grin. "What can I say?" she folded her arms on the counter and slightly tipped her head to the side. "Ice mages are just cool."

"Yeah? I think 'cold' is the proper word for you."

"Hey, at least I'm not an ice queen. I rather be cold than try to be cool like someone," she gave him a knowing look. "who tried to smoke since they thought it was kind of cool until they started coughing."

Gray shut his eyes and dropped his head comically. "It was a phase."

"Yes. A phase that was like two seconds. It was pretty funny."

He looked at her and feigned a glare. "Agh, be quiet."

Karissa leaned a little closer to playfully stick her tongue out at him. He didn't entertain her with a response and just watched the bartender approach them.

The staff came with their drinks. "Here you go." He told them as he slid the glasses towards them.

Gray nodded his head. "Thanks."

"Thank you." Karissa brought her drink closer to her and just started drinking her mango juice. As if she drank some type of healing beverage, Karissa let out a satisfied gasp and lolled her head to the side with a silly smile.

The male ice mage only chuckled at her before drinking his light wine. Compared to her, he chose to drink every once in a while. He wasn't like their friend Cana who went on drinking sprees though. He was moderate in his drinking so he never got drunk off his ass.

Someone called him.

Karissa blinked and looked to the side and found a random woman sitting next to her friend with a shy smile on her face. She looked like the walking manifestation of her favorite colour: blue. But she did wear a rather big gold Fairy Tail pendant on her chest.

Odd.

"Juvia is here."

Gray nearly sputtered his drink and recoiled in surprise, "Y-You're that Phantom woman!"

Hearing that detestable guild name, Karissa's eyes hardened and she put her drink down on the counter. She knew that they had disbanded, but a part of her still harbored dislike for the name after what happened.

After he recovered from the initial surprise, he looked at Karissa and said, "Karissa, this is uh, Juvia. She was with Phantom. An Element 4. I fought her once."

"Ah," Karissa raised a brow but then looked down and nodded, She's the one that Lucy said destroyed my ice clone.

Karissa blinked a few times and gently rubbed her index and middle finger against her forehead as she felt her head throb for a moment. She spaced out as she numbly let the throbbing ease.

"Juvia!" she heard Gray shout.

Karissa looked around and noticed Juvia was knocked away from them by a rather large hand, she lied on the floor with her broken chair. In alarm, Karissa and Gray shot up from their seats and looked at the person who did it. They saw a tall muscular man with and eyepatch whose appearance didn't fit with the crowd. He wore a cloth wrapped around his head and he had metal around his jaw.

Gray glared at him, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Gray Fullbuster and Karissa Sinclost, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Huh?"

"Where's Erza? Where is she?"

"Who's asking?" Karissa glared at him, ready for a fight.

"What makes you think we'll tell you anything?!" Gray clenched his fist and took a step back to be ready for any attack.

Feeling really unease about the situation, Karissa whispered to Gray, "I'm worried for Erza… what if he isn't alone?"

"Then we trash him fast and find her so we can regroup." He replied to her as he prepared to get into his stance. But water swirled between the unknown man and the Fairy Tail mages until it formed Juvia who stood protective in front of Gray.

"Juvia will not allow you to lay a finger on Gray-sama—"

Gray-sama? What kind of…

"—Juvia will be your opponent." She declared and shifted her head to give the two mages a serious look, "Danger is closing in around Erza-san. You two should hurry and find her while you can."

Gray, Karissa and Juvia brought their full attention on the man when he moved. He brought his fingers to his temple and looked away from them, "You found her already? Oh, I see… So I can clean up here? Understood."

All of a sudden, Karissa was surrounded in complete darkness. By the sound of it, Juvia and Gray were in the same boat. The man used magic to rob them of their sight.

"It's Dark Lineage Magic: Dark Moment."

Knowing what was coming next, Gray and Karissa created ice dummies to fool him just as he struck. Their dummies fell like normal bodies and looked unconscious from the man's attack. Karissa and Gray, who knew the man's position, were ready to attack him together. Gray's shout was muffled away in water which alarmed her when she attacked him. Did that Juvia seriously just attack him?!

Karissa gasped when she felt a hand harshly grab her around her throat and lift her up when she let her guard down.

"Ugh, l-let go of m—!" her voice died in her throat when she felt herself get slammed into the wooden counter, breaking it. The impact hurt so bad that she went limp.

In a little daze, Karissa stared up in the darkness, waiting for the next blow. But it never came much to her surprise. The lights flashed, making her squint. The man was gone.

The hell…?!

With a groan, Karissa struggled to sit up. The man had much more strength than she thought. He also choked her from that impact. She coughed and got on her knees.

She spotted a puddle of water that began to bulge, revealing Juvia emerging from it. To her surprise, she found Gray underneath Juvia. He was coughing from the water that engulfed him.

Um, she thought, what the heck? Did she try to drown him?

"Gray…!" she winced when tried getting up. She was still feeling the pain from being slammed down.

Upon seeing her state, Gray gritted his teeth and moved away from Juvia to go to her, "Oi, Karissa! Are you alright?" he got down on one knee to check for any noticeable injuries. No blood. She just looked roughed up from an attack.

"I'm fine…" she winced, she ran her fingers around her neck which made Gray tilt her chin upwards to examine it to make sure she didn't get a bruise from their assailant. "Hurts but I'll be fine soon. What happened...?"

Juvia stood up and placed a hand on her chest, "Gray-sama was inside of Juvia. Juvia protected him with Water Lock." she informed proudly.

Karissa tipped her head to the side.

Gray clicked his tongue in irritation and helped Karissa up to her feet, "That wasn't necessary! Thanks to your meddling, we missed our chance to take him down and he got away!"

The blue haired mage made a dying noise as the two ice mages looked at their surroundings. All the other guests were gone.

Lucy who came running informed them that Erza was taken away by a group of people after they trapped the guests into some guards. They found Natsu not too long after and relied on his sense of smell to track down Erza's kidnappers once they alerted the military about the guests. Everyone quickly got ready and prepared to leave the resort to chase after Erza's kidnappers.

And that's how their vacation got ruined.

So much for a nice deserved breather.

…

…

…

"Natsu! We're relying on that nose of yours! Get a grip!" Gray snapped at Natsu when he saw the fire wizard just lying limply against the boat pathetically.

Karissa sighed next to Gray while stretching her legs. She kept an eye on Natsu just in case he fell over while Lucy and Gray were managing the boat by pouring their magic power into lacrima orbs. Juvia was with them on the boat.

He kissed his teeth and scowled, "Damn, I can't believe that Erza and Happy were kidnapped while we were taken down. How pathetic is that?!"

The black haired girl ran her fingers through her hair, They were really prepared...

"But how did a mage as powerful as Erza-san get defeated?" Juvia wondered with concern, causing Karissa, Natsu and Gray's ears to twitch at that. That was an insult to Erza's abilities, especially from someone who didn't even know her let alone faced her. Karissa gritted her teeth and was about to glare at her until Gray, the one who was sitting closest to Juvia, glared at her as he snapped, "She wasn't defeated! You don't know a damn thing about Erza!"

"Gray!" Lucy chided, shocked at his outburst.

Taken back by his sudden shift, Juvia quickly looked down, "I-I'm sorry…"

"Gray. Calm down, okay?" Karissa tugged his arm with a frown as he kept looking at the water mage who avoided his gaze. He 'tched' in annoyance before turning his gaze downwards and heaved out a heavy breath. Karissa peeked at his annoyed expression that he shadowed by his hair.

Maybe I'll sit in between the two just in case this girl opens her mouth and pisses him off again.

"Let's switch places, okay? You take care of Natsu while I take care of the lacrima orb." Karissa stood up on the boat and jerked her head towards Natsu.

"What? I can handle it. Just sit."

"Move, Gray. Conserve your magic. You too, Lucy. I'll handle it." She told her as Gray sighed in defeated and switched places with her.

"Are you sure, you'll be okay?" Lucy asked, worried. She was aware that the other girl had a lot of magic power to keep the boat moving. The Celestial mage was only concerned about how long she could last considering how they were still in the middle of the ocean.

Karissa nodded.

Juvia observed the youngest Sinclost sit closer to her end of the boat and casually place her hand on the lacrima orb. Instantly, the orb flashed in a bright light, showing just how much magic was being poured into it. The boat was accelerating. Karissa looked indifferent.

Juvia had to wonder just how much magic power she possessed.

And what is her relationship with Gray-sama…?!

The brief silence was broken by Lucy, "They said they were Erza's old friends. Even we don't know anything about Erza, really…"

Lucy looked down sullenly. Gray's eyes silently shifted to the water. Juvia looked at the Fairy Tail mages quietly.

"Even if you were open or closed off to people, you don't really fully know someone." Karissa shook her head as she stared the wooden floor of the boat, "When Erza came to Fairy Tail, she didn't look healthy. But even until this day, no one really knows about why she looked like that because she refused to speak of it." She looked at Lucy, "We didn't know you were a Heartfilia, right? You were hiding it."

Lucy looked away and nodded, still feeling a bit of the guilt from the war.

"I have a feeling that this is something related to where Erza came from, a side we don't know about; something she hid on purpose."

And that was what they were going to find out as they approached a strange looking tower. They discovered the shocking truth of Erza's past. She was a slave to build the tower: The Tower of Heaven otherwise known as the 'R-System'. The tower's construction was led by a cult who wanted to create the tower that could revive the dead. There, she made friends, the ones who took her away, who were working with an old friend named Jellal. However, during a revolt Jellal had become a different person and who claimed that freedom lied in Zeref's world. He became the leader of the tower who would strive to complete the tower's construction. In the end, Erza was forced to run away while carrying the lives of her friends on her back. She could not speak of the tower nor could she return unless she wanted her friends to die. But now that she returned, she was ready to fight. And so was everyone else who came to her rescue.

…

…

…

After going through a wicked game hosted by Jellal as a sign of welcome to the tower, they were able to leave the tower albeit at the possibility of dying if it weren't for Erza who nearly lost her life trying to save them all. Thankfully, Natsu was able to save her from willingly walking into death's embrace. And Erza's old friends were liberated from the chains of Tower of Heaven once Jellal was defeated.

Now, Gray, Erza and Karissa were sitting in some chairs while Lucy sat on the bed in which Natsu was sleeping in. The fire mage had bandages wrapped all over his body but he was snoring away like the incident never happened.

Natsu was bedridden from eating Ethernano during his fight with Jellal.

"Let him rest a little longer." Erza told everyone, "Not that it could have been helped under the circumstances, but that must have been his equivalent of eating poison."

Gray huffed and slumped in his seat, "Right, he ate Etherion, right? I swear, this guy turns more into a monster everyday…"

Karissa laughed at that, "I thought that was already established with him destroying ports, bridges and buildings all around Fiore?" she grinned as she watched Happy try to stuff some fish in his mouth to quell all his snoring.

"Yeah, but who the hell eats Etherion?" Gray deadpanned, "That makes him a whole different monster now."

"That reminds me, what happened to her?" Erza looked at Gray and Karissa. The two looked at each other at the vague description until Gray blinked in realization.

"Oh, you mean Juvia? She already went back. She said something about wanting to join Fairy Tail as soon as possible, or something."

"Eh, I don't know if the Master will let her join considering how things went down last time." Karissa crossed her legs and arms as she leaned back in her seat, pursing her lips, "I wouldn't let her join."

"Even after all that happened?" Gray raised a brow at her attitude.

Karissa slumped, "I'm still bitter after what happened with Phantom Lord." She said flatly, causing Gray to simply shrug but he didn't try to change her mind since there were probably other members who felt the same.

Even after Juvia helped out in the tower, Karissa couldn't fully relax around the water mage after what had just happened between their guilds. She barely even spoke to her let alone looked at her at all. She couldn't. Something deep inside her heart couldn't fully trust her at all.

"Anyway, Erza, shouldn't you be getting some sleep as well?" Gray asked her.

"I wouldn't say I've taken enough damage to worry about it. To be fair, my body theoretically should have been broken down at the structural level within that Etherion vortex."

Karissa sweat dropped and tipped her head with furrowed brows, "It's a damn miracle you made it out alive. I guess you're just built different."

"Right?" Gray chuckled before looking at Natsu who just turned on his side to snuggle with a pillow, "Unlike this dumbass who goes around eating poison and dropping half-dead."

Karissa yelped and jumped in her seat while Lucy shrieked loudly when Natsu suddenly shot up screaming at Gray.

"THE HELL DID YOU SAY, GRAAAAY?!"

"Natsu?!" Karissa stared at him like as if he grew four heads, "What's wrong with you?!"

Gray rolled his eyes, "I said: 'Man, you sure have a healthy diet, idiot!'" he leaned closer to the fire wizard with a scowl, "Come to think of it, you ended up as food for that damn owl, didn't you? So, are you the eater or the one being eaten, huh?! Make up your damn mind, you food-cycle-dumbass—!"

Natsu just fell back on the bed and went back to sleep.

"The hell, don't wake up if you don't have the energy to fight!" Gray shouted at him, standing.

With things back to normal, the room was filled with laughter.

At least we'll be able to get some well deserved reprieve at the resort before heading home. Our vacation is still up and going in some way.

After eating dinner, Gray was walking around the hotel in search of Karissa since she had been acting a little strange. She had a little appetite and was looking pretty spaced out compared to earlier. He was sitting across from her and was watching her attentively ever since Lucy asked her if she was alright. Something was definitely wrong with her. Knowing her, she probably wanted to keep things to herself and pretend things were okay.

He had a feeling that was the case when he couldn't find her in her room.

Gray scratched the back of his head and kept looking, worried. He was back on the ground floor since he figured she wouldn't be hanging anywhere else if she wasn't in her own room. When he passed by a window, he noted how dark it was since street lights and moonlight were the only things lighting up the darkness outside the hotel. As he walked past the window, he quickly froze and did a double take when he found Karissa sitting outside on a bench staring at the ground.

Relieved, he walked to the door leading to the back of the hotel where the guests had a nice view of the ocean. When he got a good view of her side profile, he could see that she was holding something familiar. Her headphones.

"Hey."

Karissa flinched and quickly rubbed her eyes and shifted in her seat to show her back. Gray frowned deeply at the sight and wondered why she was crying outside all by herself. That wasn't like her. It made him walk faster.

Then again… she's pretty soft on the inside. She just doesn't show it often.

Why was she hurting?

He stopped next to her and waited for her to compose herself. The male ice mage stuffed his hands in his pockets and sat down on the bench with her. It was only once she sat up straight and leaned back against the bench that Gray caught sight of the red from crying.

She held up the headphones.

"… It doesn't work anymore." She revealed sadly.

Ah.

Gray gently pried it from her and looked at it. It had definitely seen better days.

"What do you mean?" he asked her while gently brushing a crack with his thumb, "Did the lacrima inside shatter?"

"I think it broke when I went back to my room to change after Erza was taken away. I was in a hurry so I didn't notice it fell at first. When we came back, I found it on the floor but I didn't realize they stopped working until just before dinner…" she explained to him while staring at them with a tired expression followed by a sniffle, "Do you think it can be fixed?"

Pretty convinced that there was nothing they could do to reverse the damage; Gray only shook his head and placed the headphones on her lap. "The lacrima inside headphones are the things that make it function… If it's not working then it must mean the lacrima inside shattered from the fall. There really isn't anything we can do."

"… Oh."

That made her heart ache.

He understood the hidden meaning behind them. He remembered the day Karissa had gotten them, she looked so happy to get a gift from someone who acted like a brother figure to her. He remembered the way she would hold onto to them nervously like as if it gave her courage back when she was shy to communicate with others. A sad little smile would appear on her face whenever she had to explain that her headphones were precious to her. It was a fond memory of the past.

It was the night of the Harvest Festival. All the younger members were sticking together after the Fantasia Parade rolled through the town and they decided to sit somewhere where they could watch some fireworks go off.

Everyone was enjoying the colours bursting in the sky that was accompanied by falling crystals all over town. It was beautiful.

Karissa was sitting next to Gray and Cana and silently enjoying the view with wide eyes. Cana kept commenting on how pretty the colours looked. Gray was smiling much like the others.

"Hey, guys!" Pandora shouted, making the others turn to see Laxus, Mirajane and Pandora with a few other older members walking with them.

"Mira-nee!"

"Pandora!"

Van and Lisanna greeted their siblings.

Karissa smiled at Laxus and waved her hand at him while he just planted himself behind her and her friends. Pandora smiled at her little sister as she took a seat next to Laxus.

"Here, Pandora said you'd like this." Laxus held up some cookies.

Karissa gasped and took it from him, "Ooh! Chocolate chop cookies! Let's goooo! Thanks, Laxus!"

"Meh."

"Gray, Cana, do you guys want some?"

"Sure."

"Gimme two."

"One at a time Gray!"

"If Gray gets two, I want three!"

"Natsu!"

…

…

After watching the fireworks, everyone went off on their own to enjoy what else the Harvest Festival had to offer.

Gray grumbled and walked away from Natsu while rubbing a new bruise that was forming on his cheek. He was plotting his next move against his arch nemesis until he stopped in his tracks at the sight of Laxus standing up with a sleepy Karissa on his back. The lightning mage had a smile on his face while Karissa talked about something Gray couldn't hear from where he stood.

"Weird…" Gray whispered and watched Laxus walk off in the direction she pointed in. "Didn't know Laxus was softy for her."

His eyes shifted back to her when she cursed and leaned forward to face the ground once more. Her hair curtained around her face to hide it from Gray. He flinched and panicked when he heard her sniffling followed by a heavy breath. Oh no. She was crying. He wasn't good with crying girls.

"U-Uh…" Gray felt stupid as he continued mumbling vowels like an idiot. He thought he became Natsu or something. Where the hell did his words go?!

"Jeez, the fuck…" Karissa laughed pathetically, wiping her tears, "Ugh, sorry. I know you can't handle this type of crap." Karissa groaned, annoyed at herself for just putting Gray on the spot. The reason for being alone in the dark in the first place was to avoid being seen by someone else and maybe getting questioned. The last thing she wanted was to worry someone over spilled milk.

"I'll just take a walk and calm the hell down. Maybe the sound of waves will help."

Okay. Now that just made him feel shitty. She was basically saying that he was useless in comfort. Well, it was true. He was a little emotionally inept. But god, he'd feel even worse for just letting her walk it off like as if her emotional pain was equivalent to her tripping over a pebble. This was his childhood friend for goodness sake!

"Wait!" Gray instantly shot up leaned forward and latched his hand around her wrist before she got too far. "I'll go with you. I can't leave you alone when you're crying."

"What? But… you can't really handle crying girls, right? Last time I checked, I'm a girl." she sniffed while giving him an unsure look.

"Forget about me. Just think of yourself." He grumbled and stood next to her. He gently placed a hand on her back to push her along as he started walking. The surprising turn of events made Karissa blink dumbly and stare at him as he faced forward with a somewhat straight face.

It was…

"Pfft—!"

Gray looked at her strangely.

Karissa was chuckling while casually turning her head to the side.

"What's so funny?"

"You. I can tell you're freaking out on the inside."

That made him scowl a little in embarrassment, "I said to forget about me."

"Hey, you offered to walk with me. You basically signed up to deal with me." She managed a small smile and dropped the headphones around her neck before curling her hair behind her ears. "Don't worry. I don't need some huge comforting. This little stroll is enough. I'm not full-on sobbing or anything. Just felt a little sad. "

"… You sure?" Gray turned to her as she sniffed.

"I mean, the whole reason I'm crying is because I miss having a nice bond with Laxus. Seeing my damn headphones broken just makes me think there really isn't going back. That… made me feel sad." She shrugged like it was no big deal, a contrast to her crying.

"Well, you guys were close back then. It's understandable that you miss having that."

Karissa expelled a regretful as walked over a branch. "I just wish I could have tried harder to keep it though. Maybe it fell apart because I didn't try hard enough?"

Seeing the look of dejection on her face made him reach up behind her and tousle her hair, she looked at him curiously. "I wouldn't think too much about it. Cana and I saw you try your best to talk with him despite your timidity. Everyone knew you didn't talk much back then. It's not your fault that it wasn't reciprocated the way you wanted. Don't blame yourself. People... just change."

Silence fell between them when Karissa looked ahead to let his words sink in.

… Yeah, I did my best, I think. Laxus was starting to get pretty mean back then.

If he doesn't want to reciprocate anything, then that's fine.

I shouldn't expect anything.

Change was inevitable...

It's something I really have to accept even though it hurt.

I'm just grateful I had the chance to have that bond with Laxus. There wasn't many kids like me who he was close to, I feel like that's something I should be proud of.

With the ambient sound of the waves in the background, Karissa looked at Gray with a smile and slightly nodded her head in agreement. Her friend may not do well with crying girls but he certainly had his own way to cheer her up.

Gray relaxed when he saw that she looked better compared to a few minutes ago. She always looked better when she wasn't sad. He reciprocated her smile with his own.

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Karissa sniffed again. His hand dropped on her shoulder to gently pat her. "Thanks, Gray. I didn't expect you to care." She said with a joking tone.

He thumped her on the head with an annoyed look for that nonsense. "Of course, I care. If I didn't, I wouldn't have been looking all over for you, stupid."

She rubbed her head while wiping the rest of her tears away. "Jeez, I was just kidding. I was trying to lighten up the mood." She pouted and sniffled again, causing her to groan in annoyance and cross her eyes to stare at her nose. "My god, I hate having a runny nose. It's like I'm sick or something!"

"You wanna go back inside then?" Gray stopped and pointed at the hotel with his thumb but Karissa shook her head.

"Not yet. Plus, I'm kinda hungry for not eating a lot during dinner." Karissa chuckled sheepishly and rubbed her stomach. "I felt a little hungry just sitting out here."

Gray only sighed and shook his head at her with a smile, "Alright, let's get some street food over there then we'll head back since the kitchen is closed."

"You'll come with me?" Karissa looked at him with a smile. Having company was always nice. It was definitely better than being alone.

"We'll call it part of your little stroll. Come on." He said and started walking off first while she watched him. He could eat a little snack before bed anyway. His childhood friend grinned happily and bounced over to him and linked her arm with his when she caught up, making him stumble and yelp from the suddenness.

"The heck?!" he looked down at her, taken back.

Karissa pointed ahead with her other arm, "Let's go!" she raised her voice like as if she commanded an army to march but then she froze and looked at her friend. "… I have no money on me right now." She told him with a serious look.

Gray blinked. "Seriously, ugh, okay uhh…" He arched a brow and looked upwards and started patting his back pockets with his free hand. He felt his wallet in his left pocket. "I got you covered."

"I can always count on Gray as my emergency wallet." She chuckled which only made him huff and flick her forehead.

"I'm not always going to pay for you, just so you know."

"But I always pay you back!"

"Yeah, but I might need that money next time!"

"So, what, you want me to starve to death?"

"Oh please, you train yourself to starve—"

"Oh, Gray, you saint. You bless me with your kindness that actually comes from your wallet." She snickered but then was confused when he slipped out of her grasp and started turning back. She quickly whipped around while laughing and started tugging him back. "Okay, okay! Thank you, Gray. I'll be sure to carry some money sometimes! I appreciate your kindness!"

…

…

Lucy smiled softly at the sight of Karissa and Gray playfully bantering with each other as she leaned on the balcony. Plue was shaking next to her while making its usual noises. The blonde mage gently stroked the spirit's head as she watched the two walk off together.

"Those two really are close."

When they arrived back in Magnolia a few days later, they spotted an unfamiliar building in the distance where their guild supposedly was. Believing that to be the new guildhall, everyone rushed over to check it out. Needless to say, they were awestruck by the sight. It was completely different. For starters, it was much bigger than the previous one.

Karissa, who had been involved in the blueprints, had a wide smile on her face when she saw the conclusion of the construction. She was darting around ahead of the others to check out the new areas. Knowing that she played a big part in the blueprints just filled her with pride when she saw the other members all settled in and enjoying their time.

"Oiii! Karissa!"

The ice mage whipped her head and found Max waving at her from inside a stand that was titled 'Fairy Tail Goods Shop'. It was their Souvenir Shop that they were planning!

"Max!" she exclaimed as she ran over to him in delight. The sand mage looked surprised to see her all excited compared to her usual calm demeanor. It brought a smile to his face. He figured she was enjoying the new sights. The others followed after her.

"Welcome back, guys" he greeted them as he leaned on the counter, grinning, then he looked at Karissa who was looking at all the products she helped in designing, "Hey, guess what?"

"What?" she looked at him curiously as she held a blue mug with the Fairy Tail insignia on it.

"The shop is doing super well." He informed her before pointing at all the products, "I had to restock the majority of them only a day after it opened once people caught wind that we had opened a shop."

Karissa's mouth dropped, "Seriously?" her eyes darted around once more, "I didn't think it'd be that good…"

"Well, also because I've been putting all my business knowledge to good use." Max admitted with a shrug before holding up his hand for a high-five, "Let's keep at it!"

"Yeah, okay!" she smacked his hand with hers.

Happy flew over excitedly, "Hey, so what are you guys selling?" he asked while looking around.

"It's Max that does the actual selling though." Karissa corrected the blue cat as it walked over to a display of figurines.

"T-shirts, wrist bands, mugs, towels, and the most popular is…"

"WHAT?!" Lucy freaked as Max pulled out a Lucy figurine and gently set it on the counter for Happy to pick it up and rotate around in his hold, "Don't go making something like that without my permission!" Lucy complained before looking at Karissa, "Was this your idea?!"

"You're not the only person with a figurine." The ice mage casually pointed at the corner where a bunch of figurines of known members sat, prompting Erza, Gray and Natsu to check them out.

"Oh right, I forgot, her clothes come off too!" Max added as he ducked down to get out some more figurines, causing Lucy to shriek in embarrassment.

"WAS THIS YOUR IDEA TOO?!"

"… Max said it would sell well."

"Karissa…!" the blonde mage wailed.

Karissa patted Lucy on the back as she let the blonde tug her arm pitifully.

"Hey," Gray scratched the back of his head as he held up his own figurine while Lucy desperately tried to put her figurine's clothes back on, "How come mine doesn't even wear clothes? Did they fall off?"

Gray showed Karissa his figurine. It was him standing with one foot back while his hands were together to cast an ice-make spell with just some pants and shoes. His childhood friend only gave him a pat on the back when he looked genuinely confused.

"What are you talking about? I gave you pants. And anyway, Gray, the people mostly know you for your lack of clothing. I'm pretty sure, if I put a shirt on you, people wouldn't be able to recognize you." Karissa poked his figurine's bare back with a teasing grin.

"Huh, I guess you're right." Gray put down his figurine and checked out Van's, "But seriously, these look good. You did a good job in designing them, Karissa."

He smiled and tousled her hair, causing her to grin bashfully.

"Thanks!"

…

…

…

Karissa stared apathetically at the sight before her. Just a moment ago, she was feeling all types of excitement and joy for returning to such an upgraded guildhall… only for her quickly get into a rather sour mood when Makarov announced that Juvia was now a new member of Fairy Tail.

"Juvia will do her best!" the water mage beamed a bright smile. Her attire had also changed. She wore brighter clothes compared to her previous ones.

"Glad to have you!" Lucy replied with the same enthusiasm only to be met with a dark stare from the water mage, bewildering Karissa who watched her from the side.

"Love rival!"

"I'm not…"

When Juvia kept giving Lucy her intense stare, she felt the eyes of another person on her so she looked to the side and spotted Karissa looking at her apathetically. In a fraction of a second, Karissa turned her gaze away and looked towards something else, playing it cool.

The blue haired mage remembered the time she followed Gray around from the shadows just before walking up to him. Gray had spent most of his time with Karissa since he was showing her the ropes of how to play games that she wasn't familiar with. Not wanting to interrupt Gray in the middle of a game that she believed required his maximum focus, Juvia chose to wait until they stopped playing. Still, even after they stopped playing, the two were tied together which gave Juvia no opening to slip in and greet him when he was alone. In the end, she decided to just walk up when they were grabbing a drink.

It made her blaze with jealousy to see the two interact so casually and closely. Unfortunately, she didn't have information to gauge at what level was Karissa on her 'love-rival' detector. Lucy still held the top spot after Gray's bold declaration that he wouldn't give her up even if he died.

"We also have another member." Makarov added, "Come on, say hi to everyone." He looked to his right where a single man sat at a table.

The person turned his head and looked at them indifferently. It was Gajeel. He gave them a glare with his red eyes.

"You're kidding, right?!" Gray scowled.

"Gajeel!" Natsu snapped.

"Wait!" Juvia pleaded, worried, "Juvia recommended him!"

"That was a mistake." Karissa told her with an angry stare, not willing to stay quiet on this matter. Juvia recoiled uneasily when the others wouldn't back down.

"Juvia is one thing, but he's the very person who destroyed our guild!" Erza reminded.

"And let's not forget the damage done to our members. Levy, Jet and Droy were sent to the hospital after being crucified on a damn tree. And then, he beats up Lucy when they had her captive for his own enjoyment. Those acts alone are absolutely unforgivable."

Gray and Erza glared at Gajeel as Karissa pointed out those facts.

"Damn straight!" Natsu roared, "You can't let this jerk join us!"

"Yes, that's true, you make a valid point, Karissa." Makarov nodded before tucking his hands behind his back, "Those acts will never be forgiven." He stepped forward in front of the hostile members, "But remember what they say? Yesterday's enemies are tomorrow's friends, yes?"

Levy, who was hiding behind a wall with her teammates behind her, nodded shakily. "Y-Yeah… I'm not bothered at all."

"Levy. I see you shaking." the black haired girl stated flatly. "You're not completely okay with this."

"I am! Trust me!"

Karissa shifted her gaze away from Levy's attempt at a convincing smile to Jet and Droy whose faces were shadowed. They didn't feel the same as her. Understandable.

Natsu marched up to his table and slammed his hand down, "Stop screwing around! I can't work with a guy like this!"

Gajeel scoffed and turned to him, "Oh, don't worry, I have no intention of being all buddy-buddy with you. The only reason I'm here is for work." He stood and turned his back on everyone. "I can't believe I ended up here in the most annoying guild of all." He spat, adding fuel the fire that Natsu was emitting himself.

"Say that again!"

"Gajeel-kun was all alone, Juvia couldn't leave him like that, so… Ah! But it's not that kind of relationship, though, really!"

With a tired sigh, the black haired girl began walking off on her own since she couldn't stand being around the new members any longer. She didn't know how to feel with old enemies just joining her home. It was like allowing rats to roam free. She stuffed her hands in her sweater pockets.

"Oh, Karissa." Makarov called her just before she could leave earshot, making her freeze obediently and look over her shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind making some drafts for Juvia and Gajeel for the shop?"

The two ex-Phantom members looked at the girl who looked displeased by their Master's request.

"Hah?" Karissa scowled, "Why me?"

"You are the designer, aren't you?"

"…"

Makarov arched a brow.

"… Then… just, why? Shouldn't this be discussed with Max as well?"

"I did, and he agreed." He gave her a smile.

Frigging Max… Agreeing to something when I wasn't even around!

"During their time in Phantom Lord, the two had their own reputations." He stroked his chin, "It would be safe to say that people might be interested in buying some of their figurines."

The rule for making figurines was to make one for those who were known like Erza and Natsu. To not waste money in production, they didn't want to make one for every single member that they weren't sure were going to be bought.

"Figur— hell no. I'm leaving." Gajeel grumbled as he turned on his heel and walked away. He didn't want anything to do with Fairy Tail other than take job requests they had so that he could survive. Juvia, on the other hand, seemed more than happy to help. After all, she did just say that she would do her best.

Karissa kept scowling as the Master just smiled with Juvia next to him. As much as Karissa wanted to flat out refuse and return home, she knew that she couldn't be so rude. She was raised better than that. She reserved that attitude to those who deserved it. Juvia, so far, had done nothing to her and neither did the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Her fingers twitched inside her pockets.

Damn it…

"Fine. I'll head home and get my sketchbook."

…

…

…

On the second floor, where it was less crowded, Juvia followed Karissa to a corner that had a place for them to sit. When Juvia asked why they couldn't choose a corner somewhere on the first floor (so she could pose in front of Gray), Karissa answered by saying she disliked it when people rounded around her to peek at her in-process drawings. It was distracting when Natsu, Gray, Van and Elfman did it.

"Sit in front of me." Karissa pointed at the chair across the table as she sat down. Juvia did as she was told and watched Karissa open her pencil case and started lazily flipping through her sketchbook with her arm propping her head.

Juvia's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the detailed sketches of faces that she had seen during her first days at the guild. She recognized the faces of Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Mirajane Strauss, Gray Fullbuster, Pandora Sinclost and many more. Finally, Karissa arrived at a blank page and straightened up.

"What do you want Juvia to do?" Juvia wondered curiously.

"Nothing." Karissa replied flatly as her pencil already began tracing vague lines that Juvia couldn't quiet understand what they were for. Juvia sat still and occasionally darted her eyes downwards to check the portrait.

Every time Karissa looked up to check her face, she looked immensely bored with her task even though her sketch was being well done.

Juvia wondered why Karissa carried a different attitude towards her. It was evident with the indifferent attitude she had towards her when they were in the Tower of Heaven. The tone she took with her when she called Juvia's helping Gajeel a mistake was also another hint. It was even more noticeable with the attitude she took presently.

Upon entering Fairy Tail, Juvia didn't feel like she was feared and hated for her previous affiliation with Phantom Lord. Prior to the return of Team Natsu, Juvia was given nothing but respect and hospitality. It was her wish to get along with her new members so that she may be accepted. However, it seemed that Karissa didn't share the willingness to accept Juvia like her other members.

"Karissa-san." Juvia addressed her while she kept sketching.

The female ice mage only hummed in response.

"… Has Juvia done something to offend you?"

Her pencil stopped.

Juvia took an easy guess.

"Is it because of Juvia's past with Phantom Lord?" she asked slowly.

The ice mage didn't think the water mage would confront her about it let alone on her first week as a Fairy Tail member. Pretty surprising.

"Of course." Karissa set down the pencil and glanced at Juvia without moving her head, making her look rather scary even though that wasn't her intention. "It's not uncommon for mages to join the guild of their enemy for the sake of revenge. That's one of the smaller reasons as to why wars between guilds are strictly forbidden. It's to prevent needless killing. And far as I know, You fought Gray in the battle. It's only logical for me to believe that you might harm him in some way."

Especially when she approached him before Erza got taken away.

I don't want to lose more people in my life, and because of it I'm naturally super cautious.

Betrayals are super lethal when it's one that you cannot see coming.

Immediately, Juvia answered. "No! Juvia would never harm Gray-sama! Juvia swears on her life!" she quickly reassured the ice mage with a serious look.

Why the hell do you keep addressing him like that? Gray isn't some noble.

The black haired girl bit her lip. All restraint caused by her introverted nature that prevented her from speaking her mind were thrown out the window at the thought of Juvia trying to get close to her best friend. Along with her siblings, Gray was one of the only things left of her first home. It was only natural that she'd protect it.

She knew seven people in her life who died. It never got easier. If Gray's name was going to be added to the list with the seven other people, she didn't know what she was going to do.

"Guild masters have much influence with the way they run their guild. Master Makarov acts like a parent towards all the members, creating a friendly environment where he encourages us and inspires us. By doing so, he allows us to see right from wrong when we grow. Master Jose sadistic ruthlessness was spread like a disease to his own members. You can see that he doesn't function like Master Makarov. They didn't think twice when it came to the rules of the Magic Council and simply followed their leader like sheep."

The blue haired woman looked down at that. Juvia could not argue with that. They did follow their leader like sheep. She did follow Master Jose's orders because his guild was the only place that allowed her to feel acceptance despite being a rain woman. Back when she was in Phantom Lord, there were many members who took pleasure in knowing that three Fairy Tail members were beaten up just before the war was ignited. It went beyond simply following the Guild Master's orders. Aside from following orders obediently, Juvia didn't enjoy the war like her former members since she was emotionally detached and secluded from others.

"Gajeel is the only example I can give since he was the only one that did something terrible to my friends." Karissa looked down to the lower floor where she spotted Gajeel sitting in a corner where no one would bother him. Without another word, Karissa picked up her pencil to resume her task.

Juvia balled her fist on her lap as she steeled her resolve. "But Gajeel-kun won't hurt anyone this time. Juvia won't either!" Juvia affirmed firmly, "Juvia understands Karissa-san's concerns and Juvia does not wish to cause her worry. As Juvia said earlier, Juvia will work hard to become part of Fairy Tail."

The black haired girl's hand stopped.

But those are just words.

Juvia had a better understanding of Karissa's reason for being distant and a bit cold to her. She had every right to feel on edge. But the last thing Juvia wanted was to make someone feel like their loved ones were being threatened by her mere presence.

Karissa's eyes were shadowed as she lowered her head it when a brief silence fell between the two. Seven faces flashed in her mind, causing her to grip her pencil tighter.

"… I can't. I can't accept you."

The blue haired woman's eyes widened at that. She felt the rejection, and it hurt. She casted her gaze down as well. Juvia should have known that it might not be easy since humans all have their different opinions.

She just wished she would give her a chance—

"At least not yet."

"… Eh?" she looked up and found Karissa rolling it in her palm lazily, her eyes following its movements.

"I trust Master Makarov to make good decisions. But I just need time to see it."

This is the most I can give her. Unlike some people, I'm more open minded and willing to change the way I see things if I have reason to. People like Freed and Laxus wouldn't accept her and Gajeel if they found out they joined our guild. Laxus might even do some harm considering his personality.

The new recruit didn't respond at first as she let Karissa's words sink. It made her feel hopeful. She felt hopeful that she would be fully accepted into the warm guild, a place that was unlike her former one.

"Thank you, Karissa-san." Juvia smiled softly. The water mage was relieved that Karissa was willing to wait and let her feelings decide once she saw enough proof instead of firmly sticking to her own logical opinion. That was fair. She only just joined the guild after all. She was willing to wait if it meant being fully accepted by Fairy Tail.

"Can we continue?"

"Of course!"

She seems happier just from me giving her a chance? Odd.

As she continued sketching Juvia's face, Karissa decided to ask the one thing that had been weighing on her mind ever since Master Makarov introduced Juvia and Gajeel into the guild. It was the leading reason why she felt so uneasy with ex-Phantoms joining Fairy Tail.

"… Tell me, Juvia… was…" Karissa bit her lip, she was going back to her introverted nature, "Er… Did your Master ever give the order to kill anyone in the battle?"

Juvia was a little surprised by her question. "No," she shook her head, feeling more at ease with speaking with her, "Master Jose gave no such order since he knew he would get in trouble with the Magic Council."

"… I see."

Karissa narrowed her eyes at the sketch when she felt uneasy. She remembered that one moment that made her furious and frantic.

…

…

"What happened?" Cana stared at their weakened Master.

"How could this happen… I don't sense any magic power from him at all!" Gray exclaimed with concern.

"No magic power…" Karissa muttered. She clenched her hands tightly. "That's going too far…!" she growled.

Was Phantom Lord… trying to kill them?

Karissa raised her hand to her head until she heard something that made her stop all movement.

"Why don't we kill them?"

In an instant, Karissa lunged at the closest Phantom Lord member and gripped them by the neck before slamming them down into the floor. "Who the fuck said that?!" She screamed.

…

…

Why would they say that then? If they killed someone, they knew they would get arrested for murder. It just doesn't make sense.

Figuring it was pointless to worry about something she would never find the answer to, Karissa decided to brush it aside and continue her simple task. Juvia happily complied to Karissa's commands. After sketching her face, she just needed to draw her attire. The easiest part.

When she was finishing the end of Juvia's outfit, she heard Gray calling her name from the first floor, snapping her out of her flow focus. Juvia, who was standing still, couldn't help but quickly peer down below to see the guy who had stolen her heart. Karissa took her time to walk to the edge and look down, letting her black hair hang.

"What?" she answered.

Gray casually held up a familiar black pencil case. It completely slipped her mind that she didn't have her coloured markers.

"Van figured you'd need this."

"Huh? Where is he?" Karissa tried looking for her brother who decided drop off her belongings to her friend.

"He went out with Mirajane to do some shopping. Here, take it already."

"No! Don't throw it!" Karissa yelped when he got ready to throw it up to her. She didn't want the markers to just burst in the air if her pencil case somehow opened in midair. "Don't move. I'm coming!"

She moved away from the rail to start running to the stairs, but halfway through her run, she stopped and looked down below.

Doesn't seem like a bad idea. It'll save me the trouble of taking the stairs.

Karissa ran back to where Juvia was and planted her hands on the rail.

Gray blinked. "Oi, what are you doing?" He frowned as he had a bad feeling all of a sudden.

She threw her legs over the rail and dropped down, prompting Juvia to let out a startled yelp from the sudden action.

"Karissa-san!"

Oh wait, SHIT!

She was caught off guard by how fast the ground was getting closer. She didn't think fast enough to use her wind magic.

Gray freaked when he saw her fall, causing him to run over to her landing spot when he saw her panicked expression. Every now and then, she had her reckless moments. He guessed that his best friend woke up this morning and decided to act like Natsu.

He pitched the pencil case over his shoulder, smacking Elfman in the face who just happened to walk by when he dashed over to her.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Gray stopped underneath her and nearly stumbled back and fell when she landed in his arms at the last second.

Karissa blinked and whipped her head around, ignoring the laughs and stares from other members, to clearly see the distance of the first and second floor. She underestimated the distance. Her head turned to Gray when she felt him put her on the ground.

"Sorry, sorry. The short distance surprised me." Karissa laughed sheepishly and thanked someone who picked up her pencil case and gave it to her.

"Geez, you're hanging around Natsu too much." Gray flicked her forehead which made her flinch and recoil back. "He's clearly contaminated you with his stupidity."

"Nah." Karissa batted his hand away.

"HAH?! DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?!"

"Nothing, flame-head!" Gray snapped back. He turned to her, "Anyway, don't go jumping off the second floor if you're going to break your leg. I'm starting to question your wind magic abilities."

"Okay, okay." Karissa snickered at that, "Thanks for saving me. I'll head back up now. Aaand, I'll use the stairs, okay?" she told him with a silly smile as she jogged away from him to get to the stairs which was close by.

"That dummy." Gray shook his head and walked off to Elfman who was rubbing his face in annoyance.

Karissa planted herself back in her seat with a huff and quickly mumbled an apology for being interrupted, completely unaware of the intense stare that Juvia was giving her since she was looking down at her sketchbook. Even the aura that Juvia was giving off wasn't enough to pull her away from her sketch since she just started filling it in with streaks of blue.

Juvia kept staring at the ice mage creepily, unblinking.

It was confirmed.

Karissa and Lucy were Juvia's love rivals.

Chapter Text

"Hey, look." Karissa pointed at the waterfall, "The water is floating."

Gray followed after her when she bounced over to the waterfall that looked rather beautiful in the sunlight. According to a sign he just passed by, there was a lacrima located below the water, causing droplets of water to simply levitate and float in the air. Karissa carefully squatted down and peered inside the water curiously.

"Find anything interesting?" Gray stopped next to her.

"Fish." Karissa snickered before pushing back her right sleeve behind her elbow and dipping her hand inside the water to fish out something. It was a small lacrima crystal. She held it up and examined it in an excavator-like manner. "It looks nice when it's not a weapon."

"Tower of Heaven?" he took it from her when she handed it to him.

"Yep." She wiped her hand on her jacket and pushed herself back up. She stared at the floating water droplets around them, admiring the scenery.

Gray chuckled inwardly when she looked at the area with an artists' eye. The scenery did look rather nice. He lightly tossed the lacrima back inside the water.

"Gray!" Karissa quickly called him and nearly fell off the seat she tried throwing herself onto. Gray, who was just eating some bread and going through a magazine he swiped off a counter, looked at her curiously and wondered why she was all excited.

"What's up?"

She slapped a job request form on the magazine and grinned, "This is the town in the south! Novera! It sells a bunch of cool art supplies last time I checked! I talked about it after we came back from Galuna Island!"

"And…?" he tipped his head, confused.

"Look at the freaking reward money!"

"Huh?"

His eyes lazily wandered downward. He nearly choked on his spit when he saw all the extra zeroes. He snatched the form off the table and stared at it in disbelief while Karissa smirked. She knew he was getting a little angsty about his expenses, and this seemed like an efficient way to get his attention.

"Holy shit?! Just for retrieving some lost auction items?!"

"Right? But…" Karissa casually plucked the form out of his hands, snapping him out of his cash daydream, and merely shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, I just wanted to show it to you since I'll be using the reward money to buy some art stuff. So byeee." She chuckled and walked away from his table until she felt him grab the back of her sweater.

Karissa looked over her shoulder with a grin.

Gray scowled at the shit eating grin on her face. "I need some freaking money. And that job will be hella lot easier to cover my expenses for two months. Can I go with you?"

It was easy.

"Say please?" she jutted her bottom lip teasingly. He knew she wasn't going to refuse.

"Please. I'll meet you at the station in an hour."

Karissa laughed when Gray took the flyer from her hands and went to tell Mirajane that they were going on a job together.

Gray and Karissa were out on a job together for their own personal benefits.

Karissa wanted some high-quality markers while Gray needed some more money.

They were currently on their way to Novera on foot since the town was a couple of minutes away from the train station. It wasn't all that bad considering how they were exposed to different types of views of nature that were influenced by the presence of lacrima. According to what Pandora told Karissa, the town usually had lacrima crystals laying around which meant the environment look interesting enough to be a touring spot.

After walking through the forest for a little while, they both stopped when they found a line of weird creatures walking together. They looked a little translucent with their jelly-like form. They had small little hands and feet.

Gray stuffed his hands in his pockets and bent his upper body to get a closer look at them, "Hey, these guys are pretty cute, huh?"

"I guess there's still some creatures we don't really know about…" Karissa squatted down again and peered down at them with her hands on her knees.

"These guys probably live in the forest just like how Vulcans prefer to live in the mountains. That's my guess at least." Gray watched her hesitantly approach her index finger to touch it like as if she was trying to pet a dog for the first time.

When her finger poked the creature, it just stopped and smiled at her while lifting its little arms. It seemed pleased.

Karissa giggled softly and turned her head to Gray, "They don't seem that dangerous—" she was cut off when it suddenly lunged at her and tried to go inside her mouth. Gray jumped and quickly tried prying it off her while she fell back on her rear with a startled muffled yell.

"Get off!" Gray tugged its lower body when it successfully shoved its jelly hands inside her mouth and was about to dive inside. It was pretty slippery. "Hold still!" Gray groaned while Karissa slapped her feet on the ground repeatedly in a panic while she was helping Gray pull the creature.

When he finally got it off of her, he just tossed it aside. It simply bounced on the ground before standing upright and then following its brethren to who knows where.

"The hell was that…"

Karissa stood up and sputtered in disgust away from him. "Ugh, the fuck?! All I did was poke it!" Gray looked at her and scratched the back of his head while she continued sputtering. "I feel like… my tongue is throbbing or twitching…"

"Alright," Gray sighed and walked closer to her. He turned her around in front of him and put his hand under her chin to tilt her head upwards. "Say 'aah'."

Karissa opened her mouth with knitted brows. It was weird to have Gray inspect her mouth, but what can she do?

He blinked and tipped his head. "Aside from the coloration from that candy you ate on the train, nothing looks wrong." Gray let go of her while she just made a sound that was similar to a whine.

"Still feels weird though…" she said and stuck her tongue out so that she could try and peek at it while crossing her eyes.

"Drink some water." He suggested.

"But what if I get poisoned or something by downing it with water?!"

Gray put an arm around her and started bringing her along with him since she kept trying to peek at her tongue like an idiot. Plus, more of them were starting to gather around the area. The last thing he wanted was to get same treatment.

"Then let's hurry up and bring you to a doctor or something. Maybe they'll know what happened since they live near here."

"Ugh…"

Gray watched her stick her tongue out to look at it again.

She snapped her head towards Gray when she heard him snicker.

"Still, it was kinda funny."

"It's not! How about I go grab one and shove it into your mouth and let you deal with that on your own?!"

"Yeah? And risk another fun experience?" He smirked.

"Watch me!" She turned and was about to march back until Gray grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him.

"Okay, sorry for laughing!"

"You don't look sorry!" she lightly elbowed him on the side.

When they arrived in Novera, they asked around for a doctor until someone wondered why they needed to see one so suddenly when they just arrived in town.

…

…

…

"Oh? Those Nobi? They like dark cramped spaces." The little old man smiled. "Don't worry. You're not poisoned or anything. The Nobi just saw the inside of your mouth as a nice place to settle in."

Karissa just looked at the man dumbfounded while Gray covered his mouth and laughed on the side. Karissa's eye twitched.

"… Thanks."

The small old man lifted his hand and bid her farewell and continued with his walk after giving Gray a funny look.

Karissa then rammed her forearm into Gray's stomach to shut him up.

"Oof!" Gray gasped for breath. "Not cool!"

"Stop laughing at me!" Karissa scowled and batted his shoulder when he continued chuckling. "I hate you." She turned on her heel and pulled out the flyer as she walked away from him, pursing her lips in immense annoyance.

Gray chuckled a little more when he followed after her and was able to stop when he fell into step with her.

"Okay, I'm done now. Sorry."

"Eat shit and die. I hope a Nobi crawls up your ass."

"Don't be mean—"

"Because you're actually a few steps away from it with how you're walking around in your underwear." She casually said and didn't look back as she walked even when Gray stopped and freaked. He ran back to his clothes and started hastily putting them back on.

"Mommy, look!"

"Don't look him in the eye, honey."

"How scandalous."

"Karissa! Wait up!" he shouted in embarrassment, ignoring the stares and whispers of the local men and women, when his best friend kept walking without him.

"Byeee."

After meeting up with their client and getting the gist of the situation, they checked into the hotel to drop off their stuff since they knew they would be spending the night once they recovered the auction items. Apparently, the reason why they were rewarding so much money for this job was because the client would be earning thrice as much when the auction takes place. The town was known for its art since its prosperity came from it.

The monster that stole the auction items was some type of giant red salamander that breathed fire.

"So, basically, we're looking for Natsu." Gray chortled.

Karissa snickered and swung her legs over the wall to drop down. "You're funny."

"I try." Gray said as he followed after her.

The two walked further inside the forest together where it was quiet. The only sounds around them were their own footsteps and the rustling of leaves. They knew that the salamander lived in the forest and that it was big. Those clues alone were enough to get them started. It would be pretty hard not to notice a big red monster after all.

Seeing how Karissa was quiet and focused on her task, it was hard for Gray not to mess with her a little. He smirked and leaned closer to her while putting a hand gently on her shoulder.

"There's a Nobi over there."

The black haired girl inhaled sharply and instantly stumbled backwards into his chest, eyes darting around frantically. "Where the fuck is it?"

"I'm messing with you, relax." Gray snorted and then she kissed her teeth in annoyance. She moved away from him and shoved his shoulder.

"You're a real ass, you know that?"

"Okay, that's the last time. I promise." He chuckled softly and tousled her hair while she gave him a dirty look. With a huff, she turned away from him and continued keeping an eye out. He fell into step with her and looked around for anything big and red among the nature surrounding them.

Karissa stopped in her tracks and grabbed his jacket, putting him to a stop. He arched a brow and looked at her curiously. "You see something?"

"No wait, be quiet… Do you hear that?" Karissa put a finger to her lips.

They fell silent.

Somewhere in the forest, there was something breathing.

Gray looked around and found no sign of whatever was breathing like that. "Either that's the thing we're looking for or that's some kind of wild animal looking at us like we're food. I hope it's not the former."

"I'll look around from above."

"Go ahead."

Karissa let a gust of wind suddenly throw her up in the air and she caught herself with the help of a gentler one. Meanwhile, Gray did his own searching for anything odd. He was really excited to finish this job since a bunch of cash would be dropping into his pockets right after. If Gray had taken this job on his own, the reward money would have been enough to cover his expenses for a whole four months.

"Hm?" He looked down when he felt his shoe kick something.

It was rectangular looking object that had cool colors. The raven haired mage picked it up and fished out a piece of paper from his back pocket. He held them up next to each other.

"One of the missing objects are a pair of earrings that were designed by an old painter who was also a jeweler. They are extremely valuable since they are practically a miniature painting."

"Is this it…?" he muttered and looked around. "But where is the other one?"

The salamander must have dropped it while it ran away.

Gray tucked it into his pocket and stood up. He looked up at the sky and saw no trace of Karissa. She must have gone somewhere else to find the salamander. In the mean time, he should probably go back and check for the other pair of the earring.

That is until he was suddenly surrounded by a circle of fire.

"What the hell?!" Gray staggered back and looked around him.

The flames continued to rise until there was a wall of fire. He gritted his teeth when he thought about the fire spreading through the trees to reach the town.

"Ice-Make:—!"

Something suddenly jumped at him.

Karissa stopped flying when she turned around and saw part of the forest in flames.

"Not good." Karissa descended closer to the forest and unleashed a wave of ice through standard ice magic. She was at it for a few seconds until she spotted Gray with burnt pants running away to distance himself from something.

Gray skidded to a stop and slammed his fist in his palm. "Ice Make: Prison!"

An ice prison rose when Gray slammed his hands onto the floor, trapping a large red creature inside. The salamander let out a cry and bunted its head on the ice bars to try and force its way through.

"Karissa, I found it!" Gray hollered over his shoulder when he saw her.

"Okay, try to knock it out or something! I'll take out the fire for now!"

The salamander breathed out fire angrily and stomped around to whip its tail against the bars. Gray yelped and ducked when the fire nearly burned his hair. The salamander was making a fuss inside the ice prison and was trying to break out of there violently.

"Yeah, it's like Natsu." Gray grimaced he created an ice shield to block off the flames that were spreading.

The red salamander screeched and ran its body through the bars and successfully busted out. Gray leaped away when its tail slammed down where he previously stood. Whenever Gray tried to trap it, it still forced its way out no matter how sturdy he mage his ice.

"Man, you don't know when to settle down, huh?" Gray got into his stance. "Ice Make: Hammer!"

Too caught up in its anger, it didn't notice the ice hammer materialize above its head and drop on it. The salamander let out a few sounds before falling limply on its side. Gray expelled a sigh of relief and straightened up when it went out cold. A few seconds ago, the salamander appeared out of nowhere, in a smaller form, and just started burning its pants after it lunged at him. He nearly ended up with no pants if he didn't smack it away with a small ice hammer. That alone just pissed it off and made it grow bigger and chase him down.

When Karissa returned, she looked a little disappointed for not helping out.

Gray pulled out the earring. "I found this."

Karissa let him drop it in her hands. "This is one of them, right? Where's the other?"

"I don't know." Gray looked back where he came from. "I was going to trace back our steps to look for it." He looked at the salamander with an irritated scowl. "Until this thing came out of nowhere and burned my pants!"

"It was probably trying to recover it." Karissa guessed with a shrug. They both looked at the salamander as they tried to figure out what to do next. To their surprise, the creature started shrinking and shrinking until it became more or less the size of Karissa's palm.

"So… it's a fire-breathing salamander that can change its size?" Karissa tipped her head. She looked at her friend and held up her hand. "So? What do we do with it?"

"We can't just cage it up. It'll break free." Gray sighed in annoyance as he ruffled the back of his hair. "Hey, don't pick it up! What if it wakes up and burns you?"

Karissa nervously held it in the palm of her hand and looked at him like a child who brought home some random thing they found in their backyard and decided to show it to their parents.

"Put it down." Gray picked it up from its tail and set it on a rock.

"But we can use it to track down where it hides the auction items. I bet it was trying to take that earring you put in your pocket. That's probably why your pants got burned first." She explained and put her hands in her pockets.

"You think it's going to let us take what it stole? That's not going—"

CHOMP!

Gray screamed loudly as the salamander just bit his hand. It hurt so bad. The male ice mage tried shaking it off with all his might but the creature wouldn't let go of him. He tried to rip it off with his other hand but that only made it bite harder.

He whipped his head in the female ice mage's direction who was just watching him with an amused grin and shouted, "Get this stubborn thing off me!"

"Alright, alright. Bear with me, Gray."

"Huh?!"

She pulled out the earring and held it in front of the salamander that appeared a little bigger compared to a few seconds ago. The red creature blinked and loosened its jaw around Gray's hand. Its small eyes were moving back and forth between the black haired girl's face and the pretty earring.

Just as it leaped to snatch it out of her hands with its mouth, she moved away from it and held it higher. She heard Gray exhale in relief. The salamander looked up at her, miffed, and circled around her.

I'm a little scared that it'll just light me on fire though…

She blinked.

The salamander tilted its head.

Maybe I'll try…

Karissa created a replica of the earring and dropped it. The salamander quickly jumped up and caught it in its mouth. Once it landed on the grounded, it shrunk in size and started running away from them. Immediately, Karissa created an ice spear and followed after it with the help of her wind magic. She drew a trail behind her as she followed the salamander that was quickly scurrying off.

Eventually, the salamander disappeared into a cave in the eastern part of the forest.

It turns out that the salamander had stolen auction items that had one thing in common: they were all shiny in the light. That gave Karissa the idea to replace it all with small lacrima crystals that were found in the water where the waterfall was.

A win-win situation that made everyone happy.

…

…

…

After receiving and splitting their reward, they both retired to their rooms and met up two hours later to eat at a nearby restaurant for dinner. They took their time to eat and just simply hang out together while talking about some stories that made each other laugh.

It was nice to just spend time together like this.

Simple joys like this made Karissa happy, especially when they were spent with people that she was extremely close with.

Sometimes, it made her think that she was born just to enjoy that simple joy.

After dinner, Karissa walked next to a sleepy looking Gray. He had some beer along with the food which got him in that state. He wasn't drunk, but it did make him want to sleep. She was glad she didn't have to drag his drunk ass back to his hotel room.

"You sure you didn't want to buy the markers today?" Gray yawned with his hands in his pockets as they walked side by side. Karissa also put her hands in her pockets and just shrugged nonchalantly. "It's fine. I can buy them tomorrow."

"What if the store is closed tomorrow?"

"Nah. I checked the store earlier when we passed by the store. They're open." She informed him. "The opening hours is just a bit different. They'll open around twelve."

"Just be sure to remember to buy them before we leave or else you would have come here for nothing." He lightly chuckled to himself.

Karissa put her index fingers to her temples. "I got it engraved in my brain." she grinned at him. "There's no way I'm forgetting."

It was a few minutes after they bid each other goodnight that Karissa thought it would good to get him a water bottle to sober up. Now, she wasn't an expert in alcohol, but she knew that water helped people who drank alcohol. She didn't exactly know how much a person needed to drink in order to need alcohol to help them. The girl would probably need to experience it herself to know (which wasn't going to happen anytime soon). So, she just decided to buy a water bottle from the counter and give it to Gray nonetheless before heading to bed.

She was expecting to find him looking all normal and just call her gesture unnecessary since he wasn't wasted in the first place. She never considered finding his room with a broken window and a knocked over lamp until she came in when she realized that his door was open.

"… What happened?!"

She dropped the bottle and ran over to the window in a slight panic. What on earth happened during the few minutes they were away from each other? She placed her hands on the windowsill, not caring about the broken glass that might cut her hand, and peered out into the darkness for any sign of her best friend.

The people that were still out at night looked up at her in confusion since they found broken glass on the pavement. Judging by their reactions, they didn't seem to know what happened either or else she'd find at least someone giving off a clue of his whereabouts.

She gritted her teeth and stepped onto the windowsill and proceeded to jump out the window. She caught herself and levitated herself to the top of the hotel.

"Zephyr Sensory." She muttered before a gentle breeze began to spread out and circulate around the whole town. There wasn't any cool temperature within the breeze, meaning that Gray wasn't in the town anymore.

What the hell… where is he?!

Whoever came here and caught him off guard couldn't have gone too far.

Unless they used teleportation magic…

She forced herself to spread the wind to the outskirts of the town. It was getting a little cooler there. He must have fought back somewhere there. If so, then the temperature around his body should still be cold. She needed to pinpoint the direction.

Karissa closed her eyes and focused. The image of an arrow ran through a painted picture of the map of Fiore, specifically the area they were in, and noticed that Gray's temperature was more towards the south.

All the way to the south near the water? Where the hell are they planning on bringing him?!

Without wasting another second, Karissa sped off and jumped off the building before traveling via wind magic.

…

…

…

Gray glared at the men around him. He absolutely loathed the situation he was currently in. It was pathetic.

Five minutes ago, he was just lying down on his bed and just relaxing after a nice meal and time spent with his friend until someone literally crashed into his room by breaking through the window. Despite feeling a little sleepy, Gray had reacted fast enough to dodge the person's hand that tried to grab him. The second time he wasn't so lucky since the person was fast enough to close the distance between them.

Gray thought he was about to get hit so he threw his arms up in defense, however, he ended up having a bright light flash in his eyes, blinding him, and the next thing he knew he was outside in the dark. They had used teleportation magic on him. Still a little startled by what had just happened, his assailant had kicked him down and restrained his arms behind his body before cuffing him with handcuffs that were meant to seal away his magic, rendering him absolutely useless. It all happened so fast.

Obviously, he had fought against whoever tried to take him away but he still ended up being thrown into a cage like some circus animal. When he demanded to be let out, his ten kidnappers refused to listen to him let alone look at him. They were completely ignoring him as they drove the cage towards the south.

It was only when Gray had leaned back against the moving cage to try and think about an escape plan that he saw something shocking. He saw small bodies laid out in front of him. The moonlight that peeked through the tree leaves revealed that they were all bodies of unconscious children.

He was horrified.

This looks like…

Gray's eyes narrowed angrily.

Human trafficking.

Those poor kids.

Angered by the sight, Gray turned around and started yelling at his kidnappers. "Where the hell are you bastards bringing these kids?!"

These kinds of people who chose to trade their fellow human beings for their own gain just made him sick. If only these cuffs weren't sealing away his magic, he would have immediately stopped them.

One of them shifted his head to look at him, annoyed by his outburst. "Someone shut this guy up…" he muttered.

Gray clenched his fists tightly. He needed to calm down and think. This was no time to get angry and waste his time demanding answers. He could do that later once he got away. But escaping on his own would only leave the children in a bad situation. Now that he was thinking calmly, why the hell did they capture a guy like him? Surely, they had to realize that the second they removed the cuffs off his wrists that he was going to break free and beat them up.

The moment they open this damn cage, I'm going to break these cuffs.

He would have to forcefully rip them apart to free his arms. He was confident that he could manage with his fists judging by how weak his kidnappers looked. Magic wasn't his only weapon after all.

All of a sudden, a wind slash zoomed above Gray's head and set the roof of the cage flying off. The metallic sound of the roof echoed in the forest once it fell on the ground.

"Who's there?!" one of his kidnappers lit his hands on fire.

It was deathly quiet.

Gray smirked when he realized who came to his aid. He didn't expect her to find out he was missing.

A figure stepped out of the shadows, causing his kidnappers to fire off their magic in their direction. A shattering sound echoed in the forest upon impact, revealing fragments of ice lying on the ground. Karissa jumped out from her position in a tree and landed on the ground behind two guys. They quickly turned around when she did but only met her fists that punched them against the metal bars of the cage. Gray winced when he got a first view of their collision.

Gray whistled. "That's gotta hurt."

"Stop her!"

Karissa smiled at Gray when he grinned at the sight of her.

"What's up, princess?" Karissa teased.

"The cuffs. They're sealing my magic." Gray turned his back to her and let her freeze the handcuffs so he could shatter them with sheer force.

"Thanks." Gray smirked and froze the bars around him to make them easy to break out of while Karissa dodged magical attacks. He glanced at the children and took note that they were still unconscious, but before he could help them, he needed to deal with these assholes first.

He stepped off the moving cage that had stopped and dodged several attacks with ease. They really were weak against him.

The ring leader of the kidnappers stared in shock as his comrades started falling against the Fairy Tail wizards. They were beating his men with no problem. It made him panic. This was not supposed to happen. His eyes darted to the children in the broken cage and desperately tried to figure out a plan to escape with them. However, he couldn't see a way to escape without having his men supporting him. The girl would most definitely catch up to him with her wind magic.

"Damn…!" he gritted his teeth furiously. He removed his glove, revealing a blue ring, and let out a cry as he shot magic towards the two mages just as they kicked down the last person.

Gray caught a glimpse of the beam of magic coming towards them, but it just happened so fast. They were both struck in the head with a blue light, causing them to freeze up and stare blankly at the ground. The magic power they were emitting completely ceased.

"Kill each other! Tear each other apart! I don't care!" The ring leader screamed at them, frantically.

Gray and Karissa looked at each other with bright blue eyes and got into a fighting stance before they lunged at each other with magic. They were fighting each other just as he ordered them to.

The leader cursed under his breath and yelled at his comrades. "Get the hell up! Do you want to stay here and get arrested?! Move it!"

His beaten men naturally obeyed him and started getting back up on their feet.

"But sir…! What about the shipment?!"

"Forget it! We'll get another batch!"

Illegal magic.

Much like Charm magic that hypnotizes the target into a state of attraction, Mind Control magic is forbidden by the Magic Council since it coerces victims into doing activities that they wouldn't want to participate in.

Those under the Mind Control are forced to take a backseat in their own minds and simply watch helplessly as their body obeys orders given to them. And unlike Charm, the spell cannot be broken by simply being aware of the hypnosis, the spell can only be broken after five minutes or once the order was fulfilled.

So much could happen in only five minutes.

Death for example.

Karissa plunged an ice dagger into Gray's shoulder which made him grit his teeth and punch her in the face to get her off him. She recoiled and looked back in front of her and found him lunging at her. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her on the ground.

Karissa gasped for breath when her back collided harshly against the hard ground.

Gray created an ice sword and plunged it down. Karissa turned on her side at the last moment to avoid it piercing her stomach before glaring at him and knocking her fist sideways into his jaw. He groaned in pain and backed away, giving her enough time create her dauphin clock hands and direct it towards him. The male ice mage created an ice dome around himself which was enough for her ice to only pierce through and stop.

He shattered the ice around him after smashing it away with a battle axe.

She created her ice halberd and swung towards him, lightly slashing him across his stomach. He winced and broke her ice weapon with his battle axe and proceeded to kick his leg up. The female ice mage brought up her arm and blocked his leg with a grunt before grabbing his ankle and swinging him to a tree.

In an instant, Gray's hand was pinned against the tree when Karissa plunged a dagger into his palm. He cried out in pain. She stared down at him with piercing blue eyes while she pushed the dagger further into his hand.

The raven haired male grabbed her other hand that tried to pierce him with another dagger and squeezed her wrist tightly until she cried out in pain, forcing her to drop her ice dagger. He used that opportunity to make his own and stab her in the same shoulder. It made her loosen her hold on the dagger that was piercing his hand which gave him the chance to ram his foot into her guts. He sent her rolling back and she ended up writhing in pain on the ground.

His hand ripped out the dagger from his hand and he approached with the intent to kill.

He slashed her on the left side with an ice sword, drawing more blood from her.

It was violent.

Their blood dripped here and there from their fresh wounds.

Their orders were to kill each other.

And that's what they were going to do.

…

…

…

Karissa who was stuck in a dark place, repeatedly slammed her fist against an invisible wall that kept her from having full control of her actions.

At this rate… we'll really kill each other!

She was growing frantic by the second.

"Stop it!" Karissa screamed helplessly as she saw herself slam her forehead against Gray's and then proceeded to grab his hair and ram his face into a tree.

"Fuck! Fuck!" Karissa continued pounding against the wall. "Make it stop! Stop, damn it!"

I don't want to hurt him like this! I don't want to kill him!

Don't kill him!

Why did magic have to be so cruel like this?

The weight of guilt and despair was bringing her down to her knees where she could only cry as the fear of killing him overwhelmed her entire being.

This wasn't supposed to happen! We we're literally just having a good time an hour ago!

Her mind would surely break from witnessing anymore of this nightmare. She just wanted it all to stop.

Karissa pounded even harder on the invisible wall. "STOP IT! STOP! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!" her hands simultaneously harshly pounded the wall. "I DON'T WANT TO KILL GRAY!"

All of a sudden, the dark room she was stuck in was illuminated in bright purple light and her hands fell through the wall. Karissa froze in confusion with her tear stained face. What just happened? The next thing she knew, she was very much aware of how she was dodging Gray's attacks. She flexed her fingers a little to try and see if she had control of her body. She did. Her attacks that brought her best friend harm had also stopped.

She was in control again.

Karissa's eyes narrowed. "Okay."

Everything was under her control.

And geez, Gray gave me a nice beating.

Without attacking him back, Karissa evaded his attacks while she tried to wrack her brain over a solution.

Running away from him might not work. He's clearly fighting with a hundred percent of his strength in addition to a violent behaviour.  I can't turn my back on him.  If I get caught while running away, he might seriously kill me. Plus, I don't even know how long this mind control thing lasts.

Maybe calling out to him might help? He might come out of the mind control like me.

Karissa back stepped away from him. "Gray! Wake up!" she yelled at him. "Don't let that loser's mind control win over you! Snap out of it!"

Gray sent an ice geyser after her.

"Gray!" she screamed at him and blocked his ice geyser with an ice wall. "Wake the hell up! Listen to me! You need to fight it!"

"Ice-Make: Saucer!" he sent a large spinning disk in her direction. Karissa evaded by ducking and then ran up to him to grab his arms to stop him from putting his hands together but he easily broke free.

"Gray—!" her voice died when punched her in the face to stun her and then he swung his leg downward to knock her off her feet. She landed on her wounded side.

Yeah. Okay. That's not working. And if I continue like this, I'll get seriously hurt!

Karissa used her wind magic to push him away from her before he had the chance to strike her.

Then I'll knock him out.

She had to fight back now for her sake and his.

It was a little tough since he was acting violent. It was difficult to find a good opening. He once nearly strangled her to death if she didn't sink an ice claw into his arm. She didn't mind drawing a bit a blood if it meant he would still come out of it alive. Wounds heals and scars remains, unlike a life that can lost forever once it is snuffed out.

When she finally found a perfect opening, she harshly kneed him into his gut, causing him to freeze up from having the wind knocked out of him. He doubled over in pain and left the back of his head exposed. Karissa locked her hands together and raised them up behind him.

When she brought her hands down to strike him, she suddenly froze in place, her hands stopped a hair away from him.

An ice sword impaled her.

Karissa felt the pain.

With gritted teeth, she rested her hands on his shoulders to support herself. "Gray…!" she croaked, with her lips stained red from her blood.

His body glowed in bright purple just as he retracted his bloody sword from her body.

Agh, no good.

Her crimson blood splattered on the grass and she just felt so weak. Her knees buckled and she fell on them before collapsing on the side. Gray had also fallen on his knees and just fell on his side. His ice sword shattered when it fell. He was unconscious. It must have been the effect after he 'fulfilled' his task while under the mind control.

That brought a smile of relief.

That's good. We're all good.

"Geez… if… that's all it took to… complete the order… I should… have just… let him do it…"

They were okay now. The only problem now was the wound he gave her. Karissa grimaced. She could feel the warmth of her blood and it was beginning to pool around her.

Just need to… seal it…

She raised her hand to her front and started covering the wound with ice. It would have to do the trick until she found a doctor.

The back.

As she turned on her side and away from Gray, she weakly reached behind her and tried to find the spot where her life was seeping out of. But her sight was going black. She was starting to slip into unconsciousness.

She brushed her fingers against the torn flesh and whimpered.

Come on… just that last part… It shouldn't be that hard…

It was no use.

Karissa's hand fell limply against the ground. Her dark brown eyes were slowly hiding behind her eyelids that were enveloping her in complete darkness.

NEAR THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF FIORE, TWO HOURS AWAY FROM NOVERA.

…

…

…

"So, you don't have it?"

The ring leader of the kidnappers, Sano, was quick to defend himself. "That girl! She was too strong! And things only got worse when she freed the last one we captured. If we tried to take the kids with us, we wouldn't even be here!"

A woman, with dark brown hair and that matched the colour of her eyes, and who looked past her fifties, just stared at Sano with an unamused expression. The people at her side stood silently as she didn't say anything. The silence was terrifying.

Sano's men looked around them nervously.

"So," the woman finally spoke. "You mean to tell me, that instead of casting your magic on them after you secured the shipment, you ran away like a coward and deserted the task I gave you?"

Sano's face twitched as she called him that. He clenched his fist tightly. He had to make things right. It was one thing to displease his employer but it was a complete different thing to abandon his job.

The human trafficker got down on his knee and lowered his head. "I can go back and retrieve the shipment immediately! I just need a chance! Those two probably killed each other by now. I can still do what you ask of me!"

He needed money to live.

And so far, this woman has been giving it to him. He couldn't break it off with her.

"Please, Lady Reiya!"

The woman known as Reiya breathed through her nose as she closed her eyes, she was annoyed.

"Chances are only for those who are deserving of them. I would have given you a chance if you came back with less than half of your men and at least one child…"

"What?"

"Those who flee from a simple miscalculation are not worth my time and money." Reiya sighed and shuddered as she brought her hands together. "I cannot trust you any longer. Our contact ends here."

Sano's eyes widened. "No…!" he stood up in alarm. "You can't! I need you!"

Reiya snorted and gave him a mocking look. "You need me? Yes, but I don't need you." She laughed and shook her head. "'I need you'. My goodness, all poor people are the same, begging for money from the wealthy without an ounce of shame."

Sano gritted his teeth. "You… You don't know what it's like! You live in a stinkin' rich house and get to have everything you want! People like us have to resort to this or else we'll die!"

Reiya paused. Her dark brown eyes opened and she narrowed them at Sano.

"Then die." She spat darkly.

"… Huh?"

All of a sudden, one of Reiya's people ran up in front of him and grabbed his whole face. Sano's eyes widened in horror as they saw a young woman stare at him blankly. The next thing Sano's men saw was their leader's body become all twisted up before blood just splattered everywhere. They all screamed in terror as they saw their leader's blood on their bodies.

Reiya stared at them apathetically as they tried to flee only to be killed by the others who were standing by her side. Unlike the first one who attacked, they left behind their physical bodies after being killed. In some way, this was Reiya's twisted way of mercy.

A hooded figure calmly approached the woman and looked at her in confusion. "Lady Reiya, is it really wise for us to leave them like this? Is it not risky?"

The dark haired woman merely waved her hand dismissively and turned on her heel to walk towards the large boat waiting behind her.

"It's fine. Dead men tell no tales."

Chapter Text

Only a minute after Karissa had passed out, Gray had regained consciousness.

"Hey…" he got on his knees and cradled her face, he was shaking. He flinched when he stained her cheek with blood. He didn't even realize his palm was covered in it. Her blood.

It was a nightmare.

Her body? Injured.

Her blood? So much of it was spilled.

Her eyes? Closed.

He couldn't breathe.

His hand flew to her neck to check her pulse as he sealed her wound closed in the back. It was faint. In an attempt to wake her, he called a shattered version of her name while he felt his heart beating hard against his chest. There was no answer from the immobile girl.

The memories from moments ago flashed in his mind which made a wave of guilt crash into him. Gray grabbed his head with a pained expression as he recalled and felt every action he did to render his dear friend in this state.

The ground began to blur as he felt his tears building up.

He froze. What the hell was he doing?

Doctor. She needed to go to the hospital in Novera. Now.

He quickly wiped his tears.

Gray quickly scooped her up in his arms, ignoring the flare of pain coming from his injuries, and started running back to the town as fast as he can. But it was going to be a pretty long run despite the adrenaline rush he was feeling considering how far out they were in the forest. That fact alone only served to increase the fear inside of him; the fear of letting her life slip between his fingers.

He had to make it there fast. There was no way he was going to let her die.

He peered down at her face and grimaced.

"Come on," he looked ahead. "Stay with me. Please."

He didn't know after how long, but as he made it to the main path a bright light flashed behind him, causing him to halt in surprise. Behind him was a carriage that was occupied by military personnel that happened to be patrolling the forest for some reason.

Gray's eyes widened.

The person driving the carriage looked immensely shocked at the sight of them. "What on earth—"

"She needs a doctor!" Gray suddenly shouted. "She lost a lot of blood… we were—" he remembered about the children he left behind. "There are kids back there who were taken by traffickers… I- I just need—!"

Help me save her.

Upon seeing Gray's trepidation, the officer driving cut him off and quickly urged him to get inside the carriage while the other officers inside would check on the children that were still stuck in the forest. Gray could only thank his luck for running into help when he needed it most.

As the carriage took off fast towards Novera, Gray sat in silence. His elbows were on his knees and he had his hands in his hair, his eyes fixed on the carriage floor while the horrific scene replayed in his mind. He clearly remembered the way her hands weakly touched him after he impaled her with an ice sword, the way her body fell to its knees when he pulled out it, the way her face twisted in pain, the way she weakly called his name.

Gray gritted his teeth in frustration and inhaled shakily. "Fuck…"

It was so fucked up.

He shifted his hands to look at her body as it laid on the other seat without a hint of movement.

Again, he touched the side of her neck to feel her pulse to make sure she was still alive. It was the only thing keeping him together at the moment.

Even if he was under a mind control spell, it didn't change the fact it was him who ended up hurting her. He was the one who shoved a damn sword into her body without hesitation. He spilled her blood. Hurting Karissa like this was no doubt the last thing he ever wanted to do in his life. No. He never wanted to hurt her. Period.

It was truly a nightmare.

When they arrived back in Novera, Gray immediately brought her to the hospital where the doctors were quick to take her in their care once they laid eyes on her. He felt very reluctant to leave her side but he knew better than to be stubborn and get in the way of her medical treatment. Every second was going to count for her survival. Numbly, after being rooted in place and watching them take her away from him, he allowed himself to receive treatment for his own wounds before letting the military officer question him on the events.

If this was a nightmare, then he was desperately praying for it to be over.

He wanted to wake up and find her laughing by his side as she joked about the funny face he made while he slept.

He wanted her to talk to him again.

He wanted to hear her voice instead of hearing this silence.

Gray just wanted her to live.

…

…

…

"Stop!" Karissa shouted with her outstretched in front of her.

Gray was held by someone behind him who held a knife to his throat. In response to her plea, they only laughed and pressed the knife closer to his throat. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she quickly tried to find a way to save him.

But her friend shook his head lightly as he made eye contact with her.

"Don't look…"

"No!" Karissa cried and watched in horror as the knife sliced his throat. His crimson blood flowed down and stained his shirt as his eyes rolled back before the person behind him shoved his body.

Gray fell motionlessly on the cobblestone at her feet.

He was dead.

Karissa could only stare at his body with her mouth open, no sound left her, ignoring the manically laughter echoing around her. He was dead. Gray was dead. Her precious Gray was dead.

She couldn't breathe.

Then her throat felt so raw. It hurt.

She was screaming.

…

…

…

Karissa's eyes shot open. Her body sprang up fast from its lying position but pain flared in her body when she did, causing her to inhale sharply. She winced and lowered her head, her hand cradling her left side tenderly.

She hissed and squinted from the brightness in the room. Her hair served as a curtain to shade away her face from the light coming through the window.

Window?

She lifted her head and glanced around the room and realized that she was back in the hotel room in Novera. It was probably mid-afternoon judging by the warm orange light outside. But why was she there?

"Gray…?" She called softly with a raspy voice while she shuffled off the bed as fast as her injured body allowed her to. "Gray?!" she called louder once her feet touched the floor.

She started to panic.

Hearing her voice, the person she had been desperate to see burst out of the bathroom with widened eyes. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt and some loose black pants. The towel he was using to dry his hands just slipped out of his hands as he stared at her.

His face burned with relief. She was finally awake.

He just wanted drop on his knees right there after feeling like he could finally breathe again.

And he nearly did.

"What are you doing?!" Gray quickly closed the distance between them while she had her hands reached out to him. He carefully pushed her back towards the bed. Karissa didn't even care that he was pushing her back, she just lifted her hands to gently touch his neck, her fingers gently tracing a line to make sure the skin was all smooth and unharmed.

Confused, Gray paused, his face turned a little warm from the sudden gesture, and stared at her after he sat her down. He didn't pull her hands away since her face looked a little nervous, almost scared.

"What's the matter?" he asked her.

"… I thought… I had um," she pulled away her trembling fingers awkwardly and looked apologetic. "I had a dream where your throat got… sliced."

His expression softened. He never saw her shaken up from a dream like this. The dream must have happened because of their experience in the forest. Still, having to hear how she dreamed about getting his throat sliced wasn't pleasant.

Gray heaved out a breath and just rubbed her arm to comfort her. "It was just a nightmare." She still nervously stared at him. "I'm fine."

Her gaze skittered away, she almost felt small. "It felt so real… I thought you were dead."

Silence fell between them since he had a hard time responding to that. If anyone thought that someone was dead, it was him.

Karissa noted how the hand on her arm had tightened a little.

His hand was bandaged.

Her eyes widened as she realized why it was wrapped in the first place.

The mind control.

One of them might have died that night.

But thankfully, Gray and Karissa were still together and alive.

"Gray, what happened?" she finally asked, staring at his hand as she gently reached for it. "I mean, how did I get here? Can you tell me what happened?"

I did this to him.

The black haired girl's eyebrows knitted when she brushed her thumb across his bandaged palm. She felt bad for giving him that injury. She didn't want to hurt him.

Gray frowned as she regretfully held his injured hand in hers. She also carried guilt for her actions that were done against her will.

Without pulling away, he pulled the chair behind him closer to the bed and sat in it. She was sitting on the edge of the bed in front of him, still holding his hand, looking at him with concern. Up close, she could see his dark eyes shadowed from lack of sleep. His left cheek also had a bandage patch.

Karissa had been unconscious for five days. She had three wounds: the stabbing wound in her shoulder, the slash on her left side, and the impalement located also near her left. The last one was the major wound since it nearly left her to bleed to death if it were not for Gray. She was able to receive treatment and a blood transfusion in Novera's hospital.

Honestly, it was a miracle that there was no severe damage after having the ice sword pulled out of her body. It was also a close call considering how much blood she lost. If he had come a minute or two later, she might not have survived.

The hospital allowed him to bring her back to the hotel once they deemed that her body was alright enough to be without their care. It was up to her body to finish the healing process. It was mostly thanks to Porlyusica who sent a healing potion for her with the reply letter that Makarov had sent when Gray informed him via letter why the two hadn't returned to the guild yet. It helped speed up the recovery process.

As for the traffickers, the military officer had informed him that they were found dead somewhere near the shore in the south. Gray had to accompany them to make sure they those were the ones who responsible since he remembered certain faces. Unfortunately, the leader of the group was nowhere to be found. That made Gray angry since the bastard was still roaming free.

"… What happened to the kids?" she finally asked after a moment of silence.

"They were able to get them home."

Karissa looked at him silently, specifically at the areas where she remembered she had wounded him. His hand, his shoulder, and his stomach that was hidden away because of his t-shirt.

"… Is your hand alright?" Karissa wondered with concern about the possible damage.

Gray flexed his hand for her to see. "It's not so bad." He shrugged. "It's mostly healed by now."

She blinked and then swallowed. Now seemed like a good time to apologize. Her hand released his and settled on her lap where she fisted it. "I'm sorry I did that to you. I'm sorry, Gray…"

"No." Gray shook his head, gritting his teeth. "I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I… didn't want to do this to you. It's my fault you nearly died back there."

His tone had notably raised. Karissa's shoulders jumped in surprise. "What? No! It's not your fault that I ended up like this!" she quickly shot back to try and erase the guilt he felt. "It's that guy's fault! It's… And I could have stopped you if I knocked you out… I just wasn't fast enough."

"No. It's not your fault." Gray laughed hollowly and looked at her with a face clouded with remorse. "I saw you. You broke out of the mind control and tried your best to snap me out of it. I heard you. I did. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't gain control of myself. I just watched myself try to kill you— I almost did. Plus, I saw him fire that magic at us, but I was too slow to react. All of this could have been avoided if I reacted fast enough."

Gray looked away because he couldn't look at her without feeling pathetic.

"I couldn't protect you."

Karissa watched him clench both his hands tightly, he was angry with himself in addition to the guilt. The girl didn't know what to say, or more like she was hesitating on choosing the right words.

After a brief pause, the girl grabbed his hands and undid them gently. When they laid flat on his lap, she took his injured hand and sandwiched it in hers. "Hey, you're not weak. I know for a fact that you are very strong so I don't know what you're talking about. And look, I don't know how I broke free of that mind control. All I did was cry out helplessly while crying like a pathetic child, I don't think any of that contributed to breaking the spell. So, I don't think it's your fault if you couldn't break out of it."

"It doesn't change the fact that I was the one who ended up hurting you so badly." He told her sadly, his other hand holding one of her hands so that he could hold it the same way she did. Her hand was soft. He was glad her hands came out unscathed. They were important for her to draw.

He turned his head back to face her, his eyes solemn, and said, "I didn't want to hurt you. I never want to hurt you."

He sounded so sad.

She bit her lip.

She understood his feelings because she felt undoubtedly the same.

Karissa sighed and looked at him seriously. "Yeah. Okay. But I will never blame you for that. Because I know you are the kind of person who would never harm his friends unless it was against your will." She did her best to give him a good smile. "If anything, I know you'd do anything to protect them. As long as I know how you truly feel, then I'll never hold it against you."

They held each other's gaze for a moment. Karissa's was daring him to argue with her while his was looking a little less sad.

Gray stared at her wordlessly, letting her words sink in.

"You're not to blame." Karissa spoke again, her voice softer. "And I don't want you blaming yourself."

No one is at fault.

Neither of them was willing to blame the other and neither was willing to let the other blame themselves. The raven haired guy shut his eyes, resigned.

What matters the most is that they were both still alive.

To her surprise, Gray just rested his forehead on her good shoulder after a moment of stillness, causing her to freeze up and shift her head to look at his raven hair. But she didn't say anything. She simply sat there, almost frightened to move and disrupt him.

He breathed out heavily through his nose.

He could never hurt a comrade.

But in the end, he still did the worst thing possible.

And the incident had done some damage to his confidence to protect.

However, he knew that he needed to fix that for his sake and others.

He had to come out stronger from this, only then would he fully forgive himself for bringing her harm.

The scars that Karissa would inevitably have to bear would serve as a constant reminder of his inner vow. If he forgot about it, then he would look at his hand or his reflection in the mirror where he would find his own scars to help him remember.

Her life was…

Suddenly, he slipped his hands away from hers and carefully wrapped his arms around her, surprising her once more, pulling her into him. He needed this right now. He needed to just feel her being alive. Flustered by his sudden embrace, Karissa's arms hovered in the air for a moment as she blinked dumbly. But when he just tightened around her a bit more, Karissa returned his hug with a small smile on her face.

It wasn't everyday Gray just gave out hugs.

Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

"You're the last person I want dying on me." Gray told to her, his eyes fixed on the window behind her. "So, you can't die, you got that?"

Karissa laughed lightly at that, enjoying his warmth. "Hey, no worries. I won't die that easily, I promise."

"I'll hold onto that promise." He told her softly.

She held him tighter. "And thanks for saving my life. If it weren't for your quick thinking, I wouldn't be here."

"There was no way I was going to let you die there—"

"Besides, you'd be a lost cause with me."

Gray huffed at her jest. "Okay, now you're just making shit up."

Her smile dropped and she looked a little solemn when he couldn't see. "Promise me the same. You won't die easily."

Sensing the unease in her voice, he moved his head to hide away his eyes from the window, throwing his sight in darkness as he rested his forehead on her shoulder once more. "I thought that was included in our last promise."

"Right…" Karissa realized with a small chuckle. "I guess I forgot."

"After making me do a pinky promise with you? You seriously forgot?"

"I'm kidding. I remember it clearly since it comes right after that little stunt of yours that pissed me off. But hey, I'm really sorry I stabbed you and stuff." Karissa told him, leaning her head back to look at him. "Your apology was a whole ass novel so at least let me express some regret."

He shifted his head to look at her and give her a frown. "To be fair, you suffered more damage. So, I think my novel apology is needed."

"Okay, I'll give you that."

Gray pulled away from her and looked at her for a moment before asking, "Are you hungry? I can go and get you something to eat."

"Oh! Can I come with?" Karissa asked, eager to get some food in her system. "I wanna see what—"

Gray gave her a stern look, stopping her just before she could stand. "No. You're staying here."

Karissa kissed her teeth with an annoyed look. "Fiiine." She carefully shuffled back towards the center of the bed so she could lay down. "I want to drink water."

"Gotcha. I'll get you something you'll like, don't worry." Gray put on his shoes and then shot her look over his shoulder. "You better not move around too much."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm about to jump out of the window and do a backflip." She said sarcastically and she caught him shaking his head.

When Gray left the room, Karissa stared at the door for a few seconds before lazily looking up at the ceiling.

She raised her hand up and flexed her fingers.

"I'm still alive…" she whispered to herself, a little in disbelief, just before she dropped her arm back down on the bed. Recalling the moment before she passed out, she realized that she never thought that she was going to die. Her mind fell unconscious without giving her the time to feel the fear of death. It was scary to think how some people could face this: to fall asleep and not realize they were never going to wake.

It was also upsetting to think that Gray had to see her in that state.

Her dark brown eyes closed. The experience had done nothing but reinforce what she believed: life was precious. The value of life is what she recognized as important. Even if death was inevitable, she didn't want anyone she loved to die by a cruel hand because she at least wanted others to have a long life.

Her eyes opened.

She sighed.

Gray really needs to sleep. He looks terrible.

After munching on some greatly needed food, Karissa busied herself with her sketchbook, and she was drawing a sunflower while her friend was gone. He was out buying some food for the next few days so that they wouldn't have to keeping paying for a takeout meal. She let him take her wallet with him since she knew the whole point of coming out to Novera was to earn more money. She didn't mind spending her share.

Satisfied with her sketch, she looked up and observed the room quietly. Her eyes drifted to the kitchen nearby, watching the water drip from the faucet.

According to Gray, he moved his stuff to her room since his had a broken window. He was staying in hers while she was in the hospital.

Problem is, there was only one bed.

So…

Where the hell did you sleep? The floor? In those uncomfortable chairs?!

There isn't even a couch in this room!

Karissa sighed and dropped her sketchbook on the bed. "I really hope he didn't sleep on the floor while he's also still healing."

She jumped (and winced) when Gray came back inside the room, he surprised her.

"I got stuff." Gray held up the plastic bag as he entered the room. Karissa only hummed in response, picking up her sketchbook and stared at it thoughtfully.

"Hey, um, where did you sleep when I started using the bed?"

Gray looked at her and just pointed at the chair across the room with his thumb. It was chair across the bed, a typical wooden chair with an armrest. "There." He said, indifferent to Karissa's sudden impassive face. "Couldn't really sleep though with everything that happened."

"Gray, you could have asked for another room to stay in." she rubbed her forehead with her hand.

"Well, I didn't want to leave you alone." He told her, resuming his task.

Karissa scratched the back of her head, a little annoyed, but yet touched by his care. The black haired girl waited for him to finish putting the grocery away while she sketched another sunflower. When she looked back up, she found him going through his bag in only his pants since his shirt was just hanging on the counter.

From where she sat, she could see his bandaged shoulder and that one on his stomach. She still felt a bit of guilty for being the one who gave him those injuries even though she knew it wasn't her fault. She could still remember how she shoved that dagger into his shoulder, she didn't like remembering the feeling.

"Hey, uh, Gray."

"What?"

She awkwardly patted the bed. "Do you want to sleep on the bed this time? ... I'll scoot over to the edge."

Gray's face turned a little red at that. "What if you fall and hurt yourself while turning in your sleep?"

The two had shared a bed three times in a hotel with the intention of saving money since the ones they checked into were asking for a little too much than what they normally paid. Their little agreement on single beds was kept a secret in order to keep Gray from a gruesome end at the hands of Pandora Sinclost if things weren't properly explained. Pandora treated like her siblings almost like her children, so it's only natural that'd she feel protective over them.

But, Gray always felt just a little nervous whenever he had to share a bed with Karissa. Why? For the simple reason that they were opposite genders. That's all.

However, if it were anyone else, he would have flat out refused.

"Then bring me back to the hospital if I start bleeding or something." Karissa waved her hand dismissively. "I seriously don't want you sleeping in a chair. Plus, a bed will give you some good sleep," she pointed at his face with a scowl. "because you look freaking dead!"

The raven haired mage closed his eyes to think for a moment. Karissa knew Gray would much rather sleep on a bed than sleep in a chair. It was obviously more comfortable.

Karissa sighed dramatically. "Or I sleep on the floor."

This made Gray give her a look. "Shut up, no you won't."

"Wanna try me?" she tipped her head with a smirk.

"Karissa."

"Gray."

He deadpanned.

"I just need a pillow and my sweater as my blanket and I'll be a-okay." She made a move to get off the bed.

"Alright!" he threw his hands up. "I'll sleep on the bed."

Karissa snickered and settled down. "Smart choice."

Gray gave her an irked look as he crossed his arms. "You're messed up for using your condition as blackmail."

Karissa shrugged it off. "Call it tough-love."

…

The raven haired male had to admit, she was right, because not long after he lied down and nuzzled into his pillow, he fell asleep like a light and got his much needed sleep.

It took five more days for Karissa to feel much better. At first, she felt bad that she was practically trapping Gray with her, but he quickly brushed off her concerns and told her that it wasn't so bad. They weren't tied to the hip 24/7. There was interesting stuff to do and see in Novera.

Gray waited up on Karissa by the door with his hands in his pockets and his back against the wall. They had plans to eat outside since Karissa was getting pretty sick of being sedentary. Plus, she was going to use that opportunity to buy the markers she so desperately wanted.

They were leaving tomorrow so she might as well buy it now instead of waiting at the last minute.

Karissa popped up from around the corner with her hair tied back. She had given up on trying to keep it from looking so messy so she decided to tie it. When he watched her slip on her shoes, he saw her ears, that were usually covered by her long hair, and he was surprised.

"Your ears are pierced?" he peered closer. This was actually the first time he noticed it.

"Huh?" she looked up at him. Then she nodded. "I think my mom got them pierced when I was a kid." She held her earlobe with her index and thumb. She laughed lightly. "I remember screaming in the store because I was terrified of whatever they were using to poke a hole."

"Really?" Gray chortled and opened the door, walking out with her behind him. "Knowing you as a kid, you were probably trashing around so much."

"You bet I was."

…

…

…

Karissa leaned back against the wall near a café and watched the small family walk together. She was holding a bag with what she purchased inside behind her back. She was waiting on Gray after he told her that he would check out something in a nearby store. He just told her to wait somewhere when she was done since he wouldn't be long.

"Mommy, I want ice cream!"

"Okay, okay. How about we all get ice cream? Me, you and daddy?"

"Yeah!"

The little boy was holding each of his parents' hands with a huge smile on his face. It made her smile a little as she remembered the days when she used to do that with her own parents. The joy of being in the company of one's parents and feeling the unconditional love, it was a life that was long gone since it was washed away by the rain on that day.

She still remembered that fateful day when her parents disappeared. At that time, they had left her behind with her siblings in the rain, leaving them purely confused as they wandered back home.

Now that Karissa was older, she was able to reflect back on that day and realize how suspicious things were back at home. But she didn't want to believe it the conclusion she came to.

Because it made her feel… sad and insecure.

With the way they were acting before they disappeared…

Behind her back, her hands tightly gripped the handle of her bag.

She lowered her gaze to the pavement.

"Karissa, you okay?"

The said girl looked up at the owner of the voice, Gray, who had a hand in his pocket. She didn't even hear him approach her.

"Uh…" she straightened up. "Yep. I got the stuff I needed." She lifted her bag and wriggled it. "How about you?" she asked him, confused since he was supposed to be buying something yet she didn't see any proof of any purchase.

Gray pulled his hand out of his pocket and held out a small piece of paper.

Karissa blinked, her mind registering the sight in front of her.

"H… Huh?" she looked at him, confused. "Why?"

"A late birthday gift."

A pair of ice blue stud earrings attached to the small paper.

Karissa continued staring at him.

…

…

…

"HUH?"

"Did you hear me?"

"N-No, I mean yes! But, I mean… why now all of a sudden?"

Gray scrubbed the back of his head with his hand, urging her to take it, which she did, and started explaining. "Remember when you got me this?" he pointed at the cross necklace on his chest. She nodded dumbly. "I figured I should get you something since you went through the trouble of getting something for me."

Karissa stared at him. "Oh."

Gray grunted and shoved his hand in his pocket. "Also, Loke wouldn't shut up about me not getting you anything in return since gifts are essentially used for showing appreciation. And after all the hell that happened, I figured now would be a good time."

After all that happened, it was obviously clear how much the two cared for each other but he still went through the trouble.

That's…

Karissa put a hand on her chest and gave him an exaggerated touched expression. "D'aww, you appreciate me?" she put a hand on his arm. "How cute." she cooed.

Gray deadpanned at her tone and she only laughed at his reaction.

"I didn't think Gray Fullbuster appreciated me at all! Like damn!"

"Alright, alright." He started walking past her. With a snicker, she linked her arm with his just in time as he passed by so that he could practically drag her along with him, then she released him once she faced the same direction.

Karissa examined the earrings closely. She found the ice blue colour so pretty, especially when it glittered with the sunlight. She didn't wear much jewelry because she thought it was distracting and she feared losing them on a job if she wore any. She always wondered how Erza could wear her earrings without thinking that they could get damaged.

But these earring studs… I don't think I could lose them.

Karissa nicely tucked the small paper into her right pocket. "But you know, you didn't have to get me this just because someone told you to."

He arched a brow at her. "Since when do I let people tell me what to do?"

"Erza." Karissa smirked.

He sweat dropped. "That's different. This is your gift so, of course, this was my decision."

How nice of him.

The black haired girl put her hands behind her back and smiled a little. "Well, thank you for the late birthday gift, Gray."

Gray looked at her as they kept on walking in the street. "So, what exactly did you buy from the store? Just markers?" he asked, pretty curious about why she was so set on getting them.

Karissa smiled and brought the bag in front of her so she could bring out the package. "They're alcohol based markers! They dry pretty fast compared to regular store markers and there aren't any marks from when you colour over something." She explained to him while doing drawing motions with her hands. "So if were to draw let's saaay…" she looked around and spotted a flower shop in front of them.

She pointed at the blue orchids that were neatly displayed.

"Those flowers over there. See how the blue is lighter or darker on some parts? I can draw an orchid and colour it to look just like that. It would look all smooth!" Then she had awe in her eyes when they got closer to them. "It's such a nice colour… Maybe I'll draw some orchids when I get the chance."

"Will I get to see them when you finish?" he wondered curiously and she glanced up at him with a knowing look.

"Don't you always? You always end up going through my sketchbook whenever you get the chance." she told him with a slight miff since he got to see some of her inadequate ones. She was wondering if she should rip them out.

Gray could only laugh at that as he shrugged his shoulders. "I like seeing your drawings." he proclaimed. "It's nice to see how much you progress."

This brought a small smile on her face.

"Sometimes it's a little cringey to look back and see them though." Karissa admitted with a sheepish look. "But it does bring some sort of satisfaction to know how much I progress."

Gray's lips curved upwards as he watched her. He liked the way she got a little more animated when she talked about drawing. It was nice to see compared to her quiet self. Perhaps, in another life, she might have become a full time artist or illustrator.

But in this life, she was enjoying being a mage that put her drawing skills to good use when it was required.

That life could have been easily lost if she didn't survive. The person at his side would have never walked next to him again if she died. Just thinking about that possibility brought him back to that night.

He recalled the despair he nearly plunged into when he thought she was lying lifelessly in a pool of her own blood. That feeling alone was something that he never wanted to experience again.

It just hit him. Until now, he never actually realized just how much she meant to him until her nearly lost her. He knew he cared a great deal for her, but he just wasn't aware that it was more than what he believed.

Or maybe he did know, and he was forced to clearly see it now.

Her life was precious to him.

A DAY LATER

…

…

…

The two ice mages finally made it back home after spending what felt like an eternity in Novera.

"Holy crap! Karissa!"

"Oh, hey CaNAA— oof!" The black haired girl stumbled a little from the sudden hug from the brown haired girl while Gray held a hand behind her just in case.

The brunette pulled away and held her shoulders. "I heard about what happened! How are you feeling?"

"Alright. I don't feel any pain when I stretch my body." Karissa shrugged nonchalantly.

"I hope you didn't let her do anything reckless while she healed." Cana told Gray who was standing behind her.

He only laughed and gave his best friend a pat on the shoulder. "Kept her on a tight leash." Gray replied with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up. I listened to you!" Karissa socked him in the arm.

The rest of Team Natsu and Karissa's siblings went over to greet the two who finally returned from their job. Karissa ended up slamming her face into Erza's armour when the scarlet haired wizard gave her a one arm hug.

"I'm glad to see you're okay." Lucy smiled at her in relief. "We were worried about you."

Timidly, Karissa smiled back as she lightly rubbed her stinging cheek. "Sorry about that."

"I'm glad you're safe." Pandora hugged her.

"Ugh, gross." Natsu pinched his nose after catching a whiff of Karissa's scent. "You smell like the stripper!"

Gray's eye twitched. "Oi..."

"That's the first thing you say to her?" Happy gave Natsu a tired look.

"Well, she does!" Natsu crossed his arms. Then he grinned widely. "Glad you made it back alright though!"

"I'm glad to be back." Karissa grinned back at him.

While Karissa was occupied with the others who were crowding around her, Gray noticed Van standing away from the crowd. His face looked unreadable as he stared at his younger sister, almost in a daze. There was no hint of relief on his face nor upset. He didn't make a move to join the crowd.

Gray raised a brow at that behaviour. It was odd to see him like that. He expected him to be hugging his sister by now much like his older sister.

As if he sensed Gray's eyes on him, the middle child of the Sinclost family blinked with a jump and whipped his head to look at Gray in surprise. Still odd. Van's face immediately brightened up, a wide smile on his face, and approached Gray with a wave, completely contrasting his behaviour from a mere seconds ago. approached Gray with a wave, completely contrasting his behaviour from a mere second ago.

"Gray, thanks for taking care of my sister." The older brother thanked him with a pat on his shoulder. "Knowing you were there for her really put me at ease."

"Uh- yeah. Anyone would have done the same."

With a thankful smile, Van swiveled around and made his way through the small crowd to affectionately hug his little sister, leaving Gray to his own puzzled thoughts.

...

...

...

"What's wrong?"

Karissa's head perked up when she saw Mirajane leaning on the counter in front of her. She was wondering why the ice mage had her hand stuck inside her shirt and staring into space. The youngest Sinclost pulled out her hand and just answered that she was brushing her fingers against the new scar on her body, the one that nearly killed her.

"It really is unfortunate that you two went through that." Mirajane said with a sympathetic look. "Magic can really be terrible sometimes."

The black haired girl just sighed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah..." she rolled her shoulders back, there wasn't any pain anymore.

Then Mirajane leaned a little closer, "That reminds me, how was your time with Gray?"

"I thought everyone already knew what happened." Karissa tilted her head in confusion but she had an idea where this conversation was driving towards. She just wanted to try her luck playing dumb.

"Not that, silly." Mirajane lightly poked her forehead. "I'm taking about how you two were stuck with each other for several days. He took care of you after saving your life, right?"

"Yeaaah." Karissa answered slowly. "Why?"

Mirajane smiled cheerfully and peered at the other ice mage who was sitting somewhere in the guild. "I told you Gray would make sure you'd stay alive. But aw, I could just imagine him being there taking care of you and feeding you. That's so sweet!" she almost squealed.

"Mira." Karissa snapped her out of her imagination with a flat tone. "I was injured, not disabled. I ate by myself."

"But he still took good care of you, right?"

The female ice mage only nodded in response as she took a piece of candy from out of her pocket and plopped it into her mouth. Then she looked at Mirajane with a suspicious look. "Are you about to say that Gray and I make a cute couple again?"

"You do!" Mirajane exclaimed without hesitation. "You guys are so close and you care so much about each other! You also feel more at ease when you're with him, and I can see that he's the same with you! You know, I think Gray might have a thing for you." the bartender gave her a wink.

Karissa made the most exaggerated and comical confused face as she slowly tipped her head to the side. "Huuuuh?"

"Don't you feel anything for him? Don't you find him attractive?"

Karissa grabbed her head with one hand and stared at the wooden counter like she was suffering. "What is happening right now?"

Mirajane poked her arm with a grin. "Come on, it's an easy answer. Yes or no."

With a sigh, Karissa turned her chair so that she could look at Gray from a far. He was sitting with Elfman and Juvia. Mirajane observed her quietly with a silent smile. After a few seconds, Karissa turned back around to face Mirajane with a pout. "Okay, I'm not stupid, and you'd have to be stupid to think that Gray is ugly."

"In other words, you think he's good looking~"

"Well, yeah, I mean, look at him! Even I can see that puberty was nice to him. I know when someone is good looking."

This made the older mage giggle happily. Aside from her older brother, Karissa had never admitted to thinking that she found someone good looking. So, this was the first time that Mirajane was hearing Karissa admit such a thing. Somehow, it filled her with a excitement to know that she was able to get that information out of her.

"And you're a pretty girl, so he might think the same!" she placed a curious hand on her cheek.

"Mira, please... you're killing me." the younger girl moaned in despair. "Why do you have to keep torturing me like this?"

"Now you're just being silly." Mirajane straightened up with a wave of her hand.

The black haired girl heaved out a sigh and crossed her legs underneath the counter. "I don't have any experience with love to understand if I have feelings for someone." Karissa casually said with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders with her hands. It was the truth. But then her eyes blinked when she remembered something from the past which caused her to grimace and flush in embarrassment, something that didn't go unnoticed by the lovely bartender.

"Oh? What's this? Your face is saying something else."

"... Okay, maybe what I said isn't true." Karissa rubbed her cheeks hard with furrowed eyebrows. "But I don't want to go into detail... Every time I remember it, I just wanna punch my past self."

"Oh, my. I'm guessing it was a childhood sweetheart?"

"Yeah..."

Mirajane giggled and patted Karissa's head when she pinched the bridge of her nose with a mortified expression.

Chapter Text

On October 15th, a week after the mind control incident, the three day long Harvest Festival was finally here. For the past few days, Karissa and Gray had been time together hanging out since they weren't going on jobs for a while with the Harvest Festival and the Fantasia Parade to prepare for. It was always fun spending time with him.

Karissa adjusted her hood on her head. Today she was wearing a black and white jacket with below elbow length sleeves on top of a cobalt t-shirt with a white Heart Kreuz symbol. She was wearing black fitted pants and blue high cut sneakers.

Next to her was Gray who wore a dark blue jacket with a a white fur collar and some light colored jeans. The two of them were walking together to the guild after running into each other on the way.

"Are we still going around with the others?" Karissa wondered curiously as she walked next to him. A few days ago, Team Natsu decided to hang out together after the Fantasia parade and eat together celebrate the festival.

Gray grinned. "If things go as planned, then yeah."

"Ooh!" Karissa suddenly gasped and looked at him with excitement. "I wonder if they're still going to be giving out oden?! I like those!"

"Pretty sure they're still going to since a lot of people like it."

"Thing I hate is that they keep moving around every year! Like god, choose one place to settle down forever!"

"Well, it's first come first serve. You can't just take whatever place you want." Gray reminded her with a shrug.

She eyed him with an arched brow. "You don't get annoyed when your favorite barbecue stand just switches places every year?"

He instantly frowned when she said that since it made a certain memory resurface. "I do. I get annoyed every time when that damn lava brain tool gets there before me and practically inhales all the food!" Gray spat in annoyance which only made Karissa chuckle in amusement.

Last year, when Gray, Karissa and Van found the barbecue stand, Natsu was holding a bunch of sticks with Happy and was cackling about how he beat Gray to the food. That only served to piss off the ice mage for his lack of consideration and they ended up brawling in the streets. When Erza overheard the commotion, Karissa and Van stood on the sidelines munching on some takoyaki while Erza was beating them to a pulp for ruining the mood. It was pretty funny.

"Fine, I'll help you look for the damn stand so you can get some before Natsu." she pursed her lips at the thought of food. "Because I wanna eat some too."

Gray blinked in surprise with when he remembered something, he turned to her. "I heard there's also some new stands that weren't there last year, you wanna check it out? It's somewhere on Crescent Moon street... I think?"

With a small smile, she nodded. "Sure."

They were already looking forward to the night after the Fantasia parade.

"Gray-sama!"

The two ice mages stopped walking and looked back to find a smiley Juvia running towards them. Gray raised his hand to greet her back and then another voice called both their names. When Karissa turned, she found Lucy walking up to them with a wave.

Karissa waved back. "Hey, Lucy."

By now, Karissa completely warmed up to Lucy and was more talkative with her like when she was with Cana and Gray. They easily became good friends with each other.

Juvia stopped in her tracks and gave the two girls an intense look while they weren't looking. "Love rivals..." she mumbled.

Lucy sweat dropped when she heard this and chose to not respond and ignore it. She just smiled and pointed at the street that would lead straight to the guild with her thumb. "Let's walk together."

Midway on their way to the guildhall, they found numerous stands being set up. The four of them were impressed with the number of people gathered around. The Harvest Festival was going to have a lot of food around town and some activities for people to participate in.

"Oh, Gray and Karissa are together. What a surprise." a familiar voice sarcastically spoke behind them.

Gray and Karissa perked up when they realized who it was.

"Warren!" Gray greeted with a grin. "It's been a while!"

Warren smiled and adjusted his bag on his shoulder. "I made it back for the Harvest Festival, somehow."

"Warren, you really take on too many jobs." Karissa sighed and shrugged off her hood so she could fully reveal herself. She was a little surprised that Warren recognized her from behind. "Could have at least stayed to help with the prep."

"Sorry about that." Warren smiled apologetically.

Juvia was quick to greet Warren. "I'm the new recruit, Juvia."

Warren just smiled amicably at her. "Oh, I've heard about you."

Karissa discreetly glanced at Juvia who was smiling back at him. Her opinion on the water mage was slowly but gradually improving with the days had passed. She was slowly feeling at ease with her around. The same went for Gajeel who had been showing up at the guild to only take a form from the request board.

Once introductions were out of the way, Juvia and Lucy expressed how amazing it was to see so many people gathered in Magnolia. The main reason why people usually came to Magnolia was to witness the Fantasia Parade. It was different every year since they chose different themes for different floats. This year's Fantasia parade was going to have the Sinclost siblings take up a theme of nobility while making them wear some Victorian outfits. Of course, being someone who isn't quite comfortable with wearing dresses or skirts, Karissa had a hard time accepting until she realized Victorian outfits practically hide skin. The last thing she wanted in her life was to show off more skin than what she was comfortable with.

"I can't wait to see the Fantasia!" Lucy exclaimed in excitement.

Karissa raised a brow and put a hand in her pocket. "Weren't you listening to the meetings? You're participating in it."

"Participating… oh, that reminds me," Lucy suddenly gasped in shock. "The Miss Fairy Tail Contest is starting! My rent!" the blonde mage quickly bolted towards the guild in a spazzy panic.

Karissa laughed a little at Lucy's panicked state but then flinched when she saw Juvia radiating such weird aura near her. What the hell is up with her?

"Juvia cannot allow herself to lose to Lucy-san."

Karissa arched a brow. Does she need money for rent too? I know the dorms aren't exactly cheap.

"You're going to participate too?" Gray sweat dropped.

With that, Juvia also ran to the guild after Lucy, leaving the three other mages behind.

"Are you not going to head over there too, Karissa?" Warren asked teasingly despite already knowing the answer.

Karissa was on good terms with Warren since he was good friends with Max. He would drop by every now and then to give his input when she and Max struggled to decide on something. At first, she was uneasy around him since he came out of nowhere to see Max, but she eventually became less timid around him much like with Max.

"Hell no." Karissa responded fast while the three walked together to the guild. "Unlike me, my sister will be participating because she has more confidence to stand up there with how pretty she looks."

"Come on, don't put yourself down like that." Warren sighed and patted her shoulder. "You're pretty too." He patted her head.

Karissa felt embarrassed by the compliment so she didn't say anything, she just fidgeted with the zipper of her jacket.

"And you're forgetting that they also look at talent in this type of thing. You got creativity as a talent so why don't you go give it a try with ice magic?" Gray suggested with a shrug. She just stared at him wordlessly and he tilted his head a little as he arched a brow and stared back at her when she didn't respond.

"But then again," Warren put a hand under his chin. "I suppose if you're too nervous to do anything then you'd have trouble showing appeal…"

"Welp," Karissa clapped her hands together with a grin. "You guys found the answer without me saying anything." She laughed at them. "Anyway, my sister can easily snag the prize money. After all, once she sets her eyes on something, she'll do her best to win. She wins, Van and I win too."

"That sounds about right." Gray agreed as he thought back to all the times Pandora was motivated by money. It was no surprise that it came from the financial struggle from the past.

Karissa glanced at him and then snorted in amusement. Somehow, he managed to strip his clothes off without anyone realizing it.

"Hey Gray?"

"What?" He looked her and saw her smiling innocently with her eyes closed.

Then she opened her eyes and flashed him a playful smirk. She reached behind him and trailed her finger up his naked spine with frost on the tip of her finger, causing him to shudder and then freak out when he realized his clothes were gone.

"Damn it!"

Karissa could only laugh at his reaction.

The guildhall was packed full of people. Gray and Karissa were having a hard time getting through compared to Warren who somehow managed to slither his way through the crowd to who knows where. Karissa was following Gray closely until someone walked into her.

"Oh, whoops. My bad." The girl apologized when she saw Karissa stumble.

"It's okay." Karissa simply said, not bothered by it in the slightest. When she looked around in search for Gray, she suddenly felt a hand around her wrist, surprising her. She followed the arm and noticed that it was Gray who grabbed her from around someone. With a mild tug, she staggered towards him.

Karissa stood in front of him with a slight pout. "I thought some weirdo grabbed me." She poked him in the chest.

"You nearly got lost in a crowd of people, that's new." Gray snorted and then turned to string her along with him. "I found Elfman, Happy and Natsu at a table. It has free seats."

Karissa smiled to herself when he brought her with him. It was pleasant because his hand felt warm.

When they were seated, it was finally starting and Max was up on stage as the host of the contest. He was very animated since he was all dressed up and stuff for the occasion.

"Welcome all citizens of Magnolia and to our guests from nearby towns! Ah, and I hear some guests from the land of the dead have come to see the show too! Please return to your graves after the show, okay?"

Karissa chortled and crossed her legs and arms as she leaned back in her seat.

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for! The competition to see which nymph is the prettiest fairy in all of Fairy Tail! Let the Miss Fairy Tail Contest begin!"

Cana was up first. She showed up in her usual outfit before using her cards to circle around her and change herself into a swimsuit.

Juvia was second. She also appeared in a swimsuit after changing her body into water.

Mirajane was third. She completely flopped by simply transforming her head into Happy and Gajeel. That was her appeal.

Fourth was Erza who requipped into a goth Lolita outfit. Followed after her was Levy and Bisca who also displayed their appeal by using their magic.

"Entry number 5! The beautiful S-Class light mage who descends from the Sinclost bloodline! Pandora Sinclost!" Max leaped away from the center stage where Pandora strode confidently to the center stage with her hair swishing behind her

Upon seeing her, the two younger Sinclost siblings straightened up and watched their older sibling with their full attention.

She held a hand and pressed her lips on her knuckles before emitting a bright light that engulfed the entire room. The last thing everyone saw was a graceful smile on her lips.

"Whoa!" Gray shut his eyes closed while holding a hand up to his face.

"My eyes!" Happy complained.

"Why is it so bright?!" Natsu whined.

"What is she doing?!" Elfman groaned.

As soon as everyone opened their eyes, they were met with a bewitching sight. The guild hall was enveloped in soft light which had golden droplets of light falling around them.

With her shoulders exposed, Pandora wore an entirely magenta simple outfit that consisted of a lavender choker around her neck with a bow, a magenta dress that varied in shades from light to dark with a ruffle-like fabric around her shoulders, down the front and at the end of the sleeves, that reached her elbows and dark red shoes.

She looked beautiful that had a touch of nobility to it.

A noble beauty that can only be admired from afar.

Pandora Sinclost hummed a light tune as she danced around in golden light, completely silencing the crowd in awe.

It was somehow enchanting.

"Wow…" Karissa blinked.

"Damn… I can't look away." Gray admitted.

"Sooo pretty." Happy drawled while Natsu stared dumbly.

"I'm so proud of her. She's so beautiful dancing in golden light!" Van proclaimed with a soft clapping.

Elfman gave Van an odd look. "Why do you sound like her father?"

Behind the curtains, Lucy looked completely astounded by the sight.

"Damn! My rent money!" she whined sadly while she gripped the curtain. Even she had to admit, the sight of Pandora bathing in a soft golden afternoon seemed like a high hurdle to beat. But she quickly snapped out of it and steeled herself once she was called onto the stage.

"I'll be doing a Cheer Dance with my Celestial Spirits." The blonde mage announced.

However, before she could do anything a female voice echoed in the guild hall when it announced the following contestant. The guild hall was filled with confused chatter when they saw a woman with light brown hair stepping onto the stage and approaching the center where Lucy stood.

Karissa narrowed her eyes, "Evergreen?"

And I suddenly have a bad feeling…

"You want fairies, that's me. You want beauty, that's me. Actually, every part of this show is me!" The light brown haired woman pulled out a fan and held it up below her face as she winked at the crowd. "The contest is over, and the winner has been decided! It's me! Yes, I call this sham of a contest to a close!"

"Why is she back?!" Elfman wondered, confused.

Lucy, annoyed, snapped at the woman who interrupted her entry. "Don't interfere with my entry! The roof over my head is riding on this!" she hissed at her.

The moment Evergreen smirked and reached for her glasses, Karissa and Gray were alarmed and concerned for Lucy's safety.

Karissa slammed her hands on the table and stood up. "Lucy!" she shouted to try and get her attention. It didn't work.

"Don't make eye contact with her!" Gray warned her quickly.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Evergreen looked at Lucy after she removed her glasses and her eyes flashed once they made contact with the blonde mage's brown ones. Instantly, Lucy was turned into stone on stage. Shocked gasps reverbed everywhere.

Sensing the danger, Max was quick to warn the people visiting to evacuate the guild for their own safety. Of course, the crowd wasted no time in doing so after what they just witnessed. That just left the Fairy Tail members inside the building to deal with the problem.

Karissa and her table stood up and moved closer to the stage with Makarov standing closer to the front.

"What are you doing, Evergreen?!" Makarov shouted. "You're ruining the festival!"

The woman with Stone Eyes smiled and stepped closer to the curtain. "Festivals come with entertainment, right?" she spoke with a playful tone before touching the curtain with her closed fan, setting it aflame to reveal all the competing girls petrified in stone backstage.

"Nee-chan!"

"Even Erza?!"

"What the fuck…" Karissa growled at the sight of her sister.

Van stared at the scene before slightly lowering his head to cover half of his face with his palm. "Not again…" he muttered to himself so that no one could hear him.

Makarov angrily demanded that Evergreen return the girls back to normal only for a bolt of lightning to strike down onto the stage, jolting the statues from the impact. It made Van tenser. When the smoke cleared, Laxus and the full members of the Raijin Tribe stood with him. The master's grandson had a big smirk on his face which obviously hinted that it was his plan to turn the girls into stone.

"Laxus?!"

"Now, let's play, Gramps!"

"Enough of this foolishness!" Makarov spoke with anger. "We've still got preparations to do for Fantasia! Now turn everybody back to normal!" he gestured to the girls.

Laxus only tipped his head with unconcerned look. "Fantasia's at night. I wonder how many will remain alive to be in it?"

He closed his eyes and smirked. Everyone's eyes widened in horror when lightning started crackling above the stage; it was right above Lucy. Even when Makarov demanded he stopped; his lightning still struck. Thankfully, it only touched the ground next to her. Still, it left everyone in a state of shock and fear for their comrade.

Laxus put an arm around Lucy. "These women are now hostages." He declared before adding a warning. "You break the rules, we break a hostage. You heard it right? Entertainment!"

Fed up with Laxus' bullshit, Van tried to run to the stage to reach his sister but Laxus teleported next to Pandora and did the same thing he did to Lucy: he put an arm around her. Except that this time, he started caressing the older sister's stone face with lightning sparks around his fingers.

The Sinclost siblings stiffened.

"What did I just say?" Laxus scoffed and wore a sadistic smile on his face. "You think I'm playing around? If you want, I'll start with your sister as an example."

"You son of bitch—" Van was pulled back by Gray and Elfman who tried to calm him down. Tried. He wasn't going to simmer down any time soon.

Karissa knew Laxus had such a cocky attitude and was quite mean to those he deemed weaker than him. But she never thought she'd see him take hostages in his own guild. This predicament alone made her compare him to his teenage self who wouldn't dare do such a thing. It made her clench fists tightly.

Everyone understood how serious Laxus was about his little game. It made the guildhall fall in silence which gave Freed the opportunity to speak and reveal the purpose of Laxus' game: it was to see which mages in Fairy Tail are the most powerful.

"The rules are simple. The last one standing is the winner."

"It's the Battle of Fairy Tail!" Laxus dubbed the game.

Natsu, who had been quiet for a while now, was all fired up. He tried to get a head start by charging after Laxus but was easily knocked out by Laxus' lightning attack that knocked him out. After electrocuting him, more rules were given to the Fairy Tail members.

"If you wish for these girlies to be put back to normal, you must defeat us!" Evergreen informed them while Bickslow danced around the petrified girls with his little floating dolls. "There's four of us and near a hundred of you guys! Hahaha! The odds are stacked against us! Hahaha!"

"There is three-hour time limit. If you don't take us all down before that, these girls will all turn to sand."

Van just laughed darkly at Evergreen's threat and gave her a scary glare. "I'll smash your face in until you're utter unrecognizable. Then I'll rip those damn eyes out so you can never cast that stupid spell again."

"Van, no!" Makarov scolded him. He understood that it was his anger talking but he should never say those kinds of words towards their guildmates even if he has every right to be angry.

"Van, calm down!" Karissa grabbed his shoulder firmly while Elfman and Gray still kept a good grip on him. She didn't want her brother angering any one of them which would cause an even greater danger to their sister and friends.

Evergreen frowned, displeased. "Hmph, what a savage."

"The battle field is the entirety of Magnolia." Laxus continued. "When you find us, the battle begins."

"Laxus…" Makarov started trembling with anger before he changed into his titan form and roared at his grandson. "Don't try to toy with me!"

"Now, now! I said to cool down! It's entertainment for the festival, see?" Laxus lifted his hand and created a bright crackling light which blinded everyone, similar to Pandora's, before vanishing from the guild with his bodyguards, and then he declared the game to a start.

"H… He disappeared!"

"So, we have to play tag in Magnolia?!"

"Damn it!" Elfman was the first to react as he started bolting off towards the exit. "We have to save my sister and the others!" He led the charge and the majority of the members began filing out of the guildhall, leaving only a few people behind.

Karissa cursed under her breath. The Harvest Festival was supposed to be a time to relax and have fun. She didn't want to go through another peril with someone's life on the line. Just as she was about to get going, her brother appeared in front of her and put his hands and her shoulders.

"Karissa. You stay here. Don't move."

"What?" Karissa gaped at him.

"If Evergreen finds you, you might just be turned into stone. I don't want that happening to you."

"So what, you just want to shelter me away from the fight?!"

"You think you can take on Laxus? You can't even look at that guy in the eye!" Van's tone raised considerably, causing her to flinch. Her gaze skittered away from his.

"Gramps!"

Van and Karissa looked at the entrance when they heard Gray yell. They found Master Makarov pressing himself against what seemed like an invisible wall. The two siblings dropped their conversation and went to go check out what the problem was.

"What's going on?"

"An invisible wall?"

Karissa stuck her foot outside and Gray stuck his arm past the entrance to prove that there was nothing blocking their way. Makarov glanced at them in confusion and then pushed harder against the 'wall' blocking his path. Eventually, Gray just got impatient and decided to grab their master by the end and try to tug him towards him. Indeed, there was really some type of wall blocking Master Makarov's path.

Van noticed a bunch of purple characters appearing above their heads. He narrowed his dark orbs at writing. "Look up."

Gray and Karissa looked up after the first dropped the little old man.

Master Makarov scowled. "Freed's Jutsu Shiki."

"Jutsu Shiki?" Karissa repeated, unfamiliar with the type of magic.

"It's a type of barrier." Makarov replied. "Anyone who steps in its boundary is bound by the rules. If you don't obey them, you can't get out. My guess is that his Jutsu Shiki made of Rogue Letters are placed all the way around the guild. Establishment Magic."

"What's written?" Gray stared at the writing from outside.

"It says those older than 80 or stone statues cannot pass through."

"What is this kind of magic?!" Gray growled in annoyance, his fists clenched. "It's like whoever sets the rules first wins!"

"Jutsu Shiki take a long time to draw. And it isn't very useful in sudden battles, but there is no power better when it comes to laying traps!"

Van ran a hand in his hair as he got more agitated. "So, there are potential traps in Magnolia I guess!"

Karissa groaned and then expelled an irritated sigh. She looked at her guild master with a frown. "And you can't break through the runes because the rules are absolute."

"Unfortunately, that's correct." Master Makarov nodded his head in frustration.

Gray clicked his tongue as he narrowed his eyes at the purple runes. "They never intended to allow you to participate in the first place, huh? They thought this through. If that's the case," Gray started running off towards the town. "Then we're just going to have to do it ourselves! He's your grandson, but I can't show any mercy! I'm taking out Laxus myself!"

Van clenched his fists and looked back at the master. "I'll be going too. I'll find Evergreen and force her to undo the spell. That should stop this game." He said as he ran off after Gray to join in on the battle.

Karissa remained rooted next to Master Makarov who looked at her curiously. "You're not going?"

The black haired girl lowered her gaze. "I'd rather not fight my own members over this stupid game. I'm still a little uneasy after the shit Gray and I have been through. And I don't even know if I could fight and win against Laxus."

I also don't know what's waiting for me out there if Freed placed traps around Magnolia… I'd be running straight into their hands.

The little old man's face softened at her words. Then he nodded in understanding. "Alright, Karissa. I won't force you to go. But if things turn for the worse, I would like you to help out please."

"I will."

…

…

…

Van slammed his hand on the ground and then pulled it away, causing the ground to shake and rip apart. It left a crater when he took the earth and created spikes of rocks.

"Get back here, wench!" Van launched the earth spikes towards Evergreen who only laughed in the air as she flew away, dodging the spikes almost effortlessly.

After Elfman turned into stone during his fight against Evergreen, Van happened to pass by the area. The moment he had spotted her, he was on a full rampage to take her down. So many people in town had to make way for the angry man who couldn't seem to care less about the damage he was causing.

Fairy Tail members were notorious for their destruction anyway.

Evergreen had to resort to fighting instead of using her Stone Eyes because the middle child of the Sinclost family wasn't even looking at her face to fight. It was impressive.

For a while now, Van had been chasing after. Van's magic allowed him to freely manipulate the earth around him to his liking. He usually overhauled the earth around him to throw off his opponents before taking his chance to attack. Evergreen had taken note of that and chose to fight aerially.

"The hearts of angered men are so easily predictable!"

Evergreen gave him a full assault of her Fairy Machine Gun which he dodged with ease with how nimble and quick he was on his feet. He leaped over a box that stood in his way and then grabbed a metal cover of a garbage can lying nearby. He flung the piece of metal at the woman who stopped her attack to dodge. In that moment, Van used his earth magic to propel him upwards by making a pillar of earth rise beneath his feet.

He flew himself right where Evergreen had moved.

She gasped when Van grabbed the fabric of her clothes right in between her breasts.

"Hey! Where do you think you're—" her sentence was cut off when he landed on another pillar and just threw her down onto the roof of some random house. If he had put any more strength than he intended, he might have broken the roof or something.

The light brown haired woman winced when she collided against the roof.

Van landed on the roof with an earth spike lance as his weapon. His face was dark and his dark brown eyes stared at her with the intent to do serious harm. "You better turn my sister and the other girls back to normal before I destroy you."

Evergreen smirked as she stood back up. "Shouldn't you be concerned about yourself instead of others?"

The boy's eyes widened when he saw glitter-like sand falling around him. Before he could move a muscle, the glitter around him exploded.

Laxus' bodyguard smirked triumphantly. The result was the same as Elfman. They never notice the Fairy Bomb floating around them until it's too late.

When the smoke cleared, Evergreen's eyes widened when Van still stood on his feet albeit in a hunched position. He was bleeding but that didn't stop him from grinning maniacally. Van's messy black hair hid one of his eyes. His earth lance was broken on the roof.

"That tickles. You wanna try that shit again and see what happens?" Van raised his hands and overhauled the pillar behind him to create a sharp sword. "I'm not going down I beat you and force you to undo that damn spell of yours."

"Stubborn aren't you? Quite sturdy compared to the others I've faced so far. However, can you still fight even after I shatter Pandora remotely? After all, she's the one you're fighting for!"

At first her words didn't quite register in his brain and he was about to keep coming after her. But when her words finally sank in, he just stopped and his hands loosened around the sword made of earth.

…

…

…

Everything fell apart.

Pandora had isolated herself in her room.

Karissa was always crying.

Meanwhile, he could only stand in the middle in the same grief.

No one was strong enough to carry on and help them move forward.

But someone had to do it. Someone had to set aside what they felt for the purpose of keeping things together. In order to quell the despair that was weighing heavily on their shoulders, someone had to come back and give comfort.

A mirage.

All for their sake.

…

…

…

If I lose that… what happens then?

What happens to me?

Van completely froze and stared blankly at the ground. He hadn't said a word in response to Evergreen's threat to turn his older sister to dust because he was too lost in his thoughts and memories of the past to try and think. His rage had simmered down.

Evergreen laughed and flew towards him while lifting her glasses. "You fell for it!"

Van's head shot up in a panic.

…

…

…

"Evergreen vs Van. Winner: Evergreen. Van: Petrified."

Karissa's eyes widened when Master Makarov announced the update on the battle. "What?!"

Happy stared at the statutes report worriedly. "Van lost? No way!"

The remaining Sinclost stared silently at the status report.

Both her siblings had turned into been turned to stone.

Karissa squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her face as she groaned silently. She was getting increasingly irritated now.

Their lives were now at the mercy of Evergreen's magic. That alone was enough incentive to make Karissa stand up from where she sat. All this time, she had been waiting inside with Natsu, Happy and Master Makarov, just listening to the status reports. She was hoping that at least someone would take down Evergreen to free the girls. That way, Laxus wouldn't be able to do as he pleased. It wasn't supposed to be hard! It was literally four people against a whole guild!

However, the number of participants were dwindling down rapidly.

Karissa couldn't sit down and do nothing anymore. If she wanted something done, she had to do it herself.

You know what? Screw being obedient.

"Gray's fighting Bickslow! I wanna join in!" Natsu complained.

"Reedus is fighting Freed, too!" Happy exclaimed.

"Only 41 members left…!" Makarov said.

Karissa threw on her hood and bolted past Natsu, Happy and Makarov who yelped in surprise when she ran off towards the town.

"Ehh?! Karissa!" Happy shouted in surprise. "What happened to staying behind?!"

"I wanna go out there too!" Natsu roared.

"Ain't nobody got time for that! I'm sick of this dumb game!"

Makarov watched her leaving form silently. Karissa was one of the strong mages in the guild so he naturally had faith in her abilities. He was counting on her to somehow turn the tide of this ridiculous game.

…

…

…

While running in the streets of Magnolia, Karissa passed by a lot of members who were laying on the ground unconscious. From what she had gathered from the status reports, the members were fighting each other. There was no point in fighting each other since everyone had the same goal. They could have thrown Laxus' stupid 'last man standing is the winner' rule out the window with ease.

So why did they fight each other?

Something was forcing them to fight.

Karissa scanned the area around her and didn't let the way the Fairy Tail members were scattered. The was a reasonable enough distance between the places where unconscious bodies laid. The area where the members lied covered a wide ground.. almost like it was giving them room to fight.

"Van was right. There are runes scattered around Magnolia."

But she wasn't running into any of them.

Because most of traps were set off already. It practically lets me roam free wherever I want.

Karissa chuckled humorlessly. "I guess it's a good thing I stayed behind for an hour or so."

Something closed in on the wind barrier Karissa surrounded herself in and when she glanced behind her she saw hundreds of little glowing bullets raining down towards her. With ease, she leaped away and stared up at the sky where she found Evergreen smirking at her.

"Well, well, Karissa, where were you hiding all this time?" she spoke with a light playful tone. "Don't think you can keep hiding now that you've exposed yourself!" she shot more of her Fairy Machine Gun bullets at her which Karissa dodged fast thanks to her wind magic.

"Ice Make: Twin Blades." Karissa created two ice swords that she held backwards and her shoes scratched the pavement when she slid to a stop. They were sturdy enough to withstand those magic bullets. The black haired girl let out a cry as she flew up to Evergreen's position.

Let's go.

A projection of Laxus smirked at Makarov.

"Your members… Well, I guess you call them your children. I bet you can't stand watching your children destroy each other, can you? Natsu, Erza and Pandora can't join in… There's no one left who could defeat my Raijin Tribe, is there? Gonna give in?"

"We still have Gray and Karissa out there!" Happy reminded the arrogant mage. "They're pretty much on par with Natsu, and they won't be defeated by any of your Raijin Tribe!"

"Gray? Karissa?" Laxus laughed and shook his head in amusement. "I wouldn't put much faith in those brats! They won't stand a chance!"

"Don't underestimate them, Laxus!" Makarov warned him. "They won't go down so easily!"

…

…

…

Karissa zoomed in the streets after Evergreen while evading her attacks and guarding against them.

The black haired girl huffed in annoyance. She's good at getting away.

"You and your brother are quite troublesome. Don't you know it's quite rude to not look at someone in the eye?" Evergreen sprinkled some of her Fairy Bomb glitter. Karissa stopped herself before she got too close and propelled herself upwards to avoid the blast. Her hood flew off her head and her long black hair flew freely.

"I've spent many years not making eye contact with people so it doesn't matter if I do it to you, Medusa." Karissa replied flatly before landing behind Evergreen and swing her sword towards her. It was close. The light brown haired woman dodged by a hair and flew up only to be followed by Karissa.

The black haired girl wondered if Evergreen knew anything about other guild members in Fairy Tail. Unlikely. Much like Karissa when she was in her mid-teens, Evergreen was quite the anti-social person until she joined the Raijin Tribe. She remembered seeing her all alone just minding her own business with no interest in anything else.

So of course, she wouldn't know that Karissa was good at aerial combat.

They continued an aerial fight until Evergreen decided to fly farther away from her, prompting Karissa to follow while throwing ice attacks her way. Evergreen broke through the doors of a building and started flying inside while firing off her Fairy Machine Gun once more behind her.

The ice mage groaned while using her wind magic to chase after her inside. That Fairy Machine Gun attack wasn't good to face in such a cramped space. Evergreen knew she was going to have a harder time dodging if they were inside a building.

She dropped the ice swords and threw her hands together for another molding spell. "Ice Make: Shield!" an ice shield formed and attached itself on her arm.

Laxus' bodyguard just laughed at her attempt to block. "I have an unlimited amount! Can you really avoid getting hit by all of them? That ice of yours won't be able to last!"

She's getting on my nerves.

Her wind increased, pushing her forward as she continued guarding until she appeared in front of Evergreen, startling her from the instant distance reduction. Harshly, Karissa pushed her arm forward and slammed the ice into her face, making her groan and stop her attack. She was really caught off guard by how reckless Karissa chose to be when she charged while Evergreen was using her Fairy Machine Gun.

"How dare you—!" Evergreen swung her fan in direction when Karissa pulled away. The younger girl side stepped and slammed her hands together to create an ice halberd which she swung towards Evergreen who dodged by rolling away. She took a couple of more swings but was only able to graze her arm.

At least she stopped flying off like a damn fly.

The black haired girl harshly swung the ice halberd towards Evergreen's side only for her to leap away.

"You missed." The woman wearing glasses teased.

Karissa's eyes narrowed at her.

Move!

The two ice swords she abandoned came flying towards them like magnets. They made a beeline towards Evergreen who was shocked to see them racing to her. One sword grazed her thigh while the other was stopped when Evergreen released a bit of powder in a panic and exploded it. The ice sword shattered.

Evergreen released an onslaught of her Fairy bullets to create some distance just as the other girl was about to strike her. Karissa winced when some bullets grazed her before she used her wind to protect herself.

Evergreen's laugh echoed in the long hallway they were in as she flew away from Karissa.

Should I just use a Singular Raid? Argh, but that'll just take so much time. She'll escape…

"Get your dumbass back over here." Karissa growled and surged after her with wind magic. Evergreen released the double amount of her bullets while Karissa simply just zig-zagged rapidly to dodge them all while putting her hands together for an ice spell.

"Ice Make: Thousand Spears!" so many spears of ice manifested around her and then launched like a maelstrom at Evergreen. Pieces of ice were shaved off by her Fairy bullets but they still maintained their form as they shot towards her. It made the older mage panic.

Then she found her opening. Evergreen had temporarily stopped her Fairy Machine Gun to use her other attack to break her ice.

When the explosion went off, Karissa's eyes narrowed in focus as a burst of wind brought her straight to Evergreen. Her leg was raised up and she firmly shoved her foot into her solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her. Just as Evergreen gasped for air, Karissa pressed harder as her wind pushed them towards the floor. Evergreen fell back against the marble floor of the building and Karissa's foot remained planted on her. It definitely hurt.

Karissa caught her balance when she landed.

She created an ice sword and pointed the tip at her face.

The wind had settled down.

"Turn everyone back to normal." Karissa simply said, still not looking at her face. She chose to look at her exposed shoulder. She didn't see what kind of expression her opponent had on her face.

The sound of Evergreen laughing bounced on the walls around them. "Aren't you being slightly naïve? My Stone Eyes have one other magic power. The power of remote control!"

Karissa narrowed her eyes.

"Get your foot of me and grovel at my feet or else I'll turn everyone into sand!"

Evergreen smiled victoriously as Karissa froze just like her older brother.

Their family is so tight-knit. There's no way they'll risk the life of their family…

Karissa's shoulders dropped and she turned her head away from Evergreen.

"You know… I just went through something really bad recently, and it made me realize that I really want the people I care about to live a long life. My sister… I want her to live long because she's not just a sibling. She's my mother and father because she raised me when my parents couldn't. I'm grateful to her and I love her so much. So, if you're going to take my parent away from me," Karissa stared at Evergreen dead in the eye with wide, almost crazy, eyes. She forgot about her Stone Eyes. "I'm sure the Magic Council would understand if I gave you the worst possible death in exchange for the eight lives you'll snuff out."

Evergreen tried again and again. But nothing. She couldn't cast her Stone Eyes. She had no idea why. Something was stopping her from using magic.

But she had a feeling it had to do with Karissa's eyes that were now flashing light purple in pools of black. Did she have her own kind of Eye Magic?

Whatever it was, Evergreen could feel intent to kill in the air.

She could almost see the shadows around them gathering together to close in around them threateningly.

"Anything to quell the despair I'll feel towards the death of Pandora and my friends." Karissa spoke with no hesitation and hidden promise, a dark smile almost creeping on her face.

She didn't recognize this Karissa.

No. She didn't even know her that well to begin with. She wasn't sure what the younger girl was capable of.

And she was terrified.

"Okay, okay! I'll free them!" Evergreen squeaked in fear.

"Do it now." Karissa pressed her foot deeply into her body.

Evergreen winced and nodded rapidly. "I did! I already freed them!"

Karissa blinked her dark brown eyes and she eased her foot on Evergreen's body. She didn't know if she should believe Evergreen since there was no proof. She scratched her cheek with her finger awkwardly and slightly tipped her head before closing her eyes to think.

Should I take her word for it?

Hmm...

Maybe I should just bring her back to the guild. Just in case.

"Alright, um..." She said awkwardly while removing her foot.

Evergreen then squealed when Karissa raised her arm and swung it. She thought the girl was aiming at her which made her throw her arms up to her face in defense while squeezing her eyes shut. The blow never came. Instead, she heard a wall crumbling apart. Evergreen slowly opened her eyes to see what happened.

"E...Eh?"

Karissa used her wind magic to blast a whole in the wall to their left.

The younger girl gave Evergreen a confused look for looking so scared. Wordlessly, Karissa shrugged and grabbed Evergreen's arm before flying off to the guild at full speed.

After Gray fell against Bickslow, Makarov, Happy, Natsu and Gajeel just ended up staring status report that displayed the only on going fight in Magnolia. Karissa was the only person remaining that could freely pass through the runes that Freed had set around the guildhall.

Makarov knew the girl was strong, but was she strong enough to take down all the Raijin Tribe and Laxus?

"The fight is going on longer than Gray's." Happy pointed out with hope. "So, that's good… I think?"

But all of a sudden, all the hostages were returned to normal. The girls were wondering what happened to them which caught everyone's attention. Natsu and Happy were happy to see Lucy back to normal.

Master Makarov and Gajeel looked up at the status report.

Karissa vs Evergreen
Winner: Karissa

Proudly, Makarov fisted his hand with a grin. "Well done, Karissa! You freed all the hostages! I knew I could count on you! What'll you do now, Laxus?"

All of a sudden, Karissa skidded to a stop in front of the Dragon Slayer and the old man after landing on the ground. Her sudden appearance made the two yell out in surprise.

"I heard my name." she resisted the urge to smirk at their reactions as she kept a passive face. It was amusing to see them surprised. When she straightened up and put her hood back on, the iron dragon slayer looked a little surprised.

"Whoa… what happened to her?" Gajeel looked at the floor with bewilderment. Karissa blinked and tipped her head in confusion at his vague question until she remembered what she was holding. She turned her head to look down at Evergreen whose hair was all messed up and she looked in a daze from the high speed transportation.

"Oops." Karissa shrugged and started dragging her inside the guild. "I brought her here just in case she lied about freeing the girls. With Master Makarov here, I don't think she'll try anything."

"It's good that you're being cautious but please stop dragging Evergreen across the floor." Master Makarov sweat dropped and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"DAMN IT!"

The sound of Laxus' fist colliding against a pillar in Kardia Cathedral echoed with his angry voice.

"How could Ever lose against Karissa?! Huh?! When the hell did you get so weak, Ever?! This is Karissa we're freaking talking about!"

Laxus remembered the way Karissa would remain silent in his presence. She kept her eyes on the ground whenever he passed her by. She faded in the background and blended with the weaklings of Fairy Tail.

She didn't stand out at all.

The girl even passed out during the Phantom battle! How pathetic was that?!

Freed's footsteps echoed in the cathedral as he approached Laxus. "Karissa was not an opponent to underestimate." The long green haired man stated. "She's strong."

Laxus gritted his teeth as he remembered his grandfather warning him not to underestimate her. He was right. Okay. So maybe he shouldn't have judged her strength based on how she acted.

Freed frowned. "Dealing with her should have been a job for me."

"Why have you returned, Freed?"

"Because the game is over. Karissa forced Evergreen to release our hostages so there is no more reason for the Master to play."

Laxus glared at Freed and released a wave of lightning that flew past the Jutsu Shiki user. Reflexively, Freed flinched and covered his face when it tore the flooring next to him.

"Laxus…"

"It isn't over. If you aren't going to follow my lead, then leave! My Fairy Tail doesn't need you!"

Freed stared at Laxus silently before expelling a sigh. "Then," he spoke. "What do you plan to do?"

The lightning mage shut his eyes to think. It didn't take him long to figure out what to do since he had secretly planned for a backup plan without telling his bodyguards. It would take a minute or two to install them, but it would work nonetheless.

Chapter Text

Laxus finally had enough. He stood up and marched over to a table and narrowed his eyes at the girl sitting there. She just looked at him with disinterest when he stood near her.

" Why do you keep staring at me?"

"I am not staring at you."

"Bullshit, you think I don't see you? You're not as discreet as you think."

Pandora clenched her fists under the table and glared at him.

"Hey, relax!" Wakaba laughed at Laxus. "Maybe Pandora's just got a crush on you or something! No need to be so harsh."

SLAM!

Laxus watched the girl stomp away without another word after she slammed her hands on the table when she shot up from her seat.

"I think you made her mad." Macao whispered to Wakaba after watching the girl leave the guild.

…

…

…

He threw his hands up. "Why are you yelling at me?!"

"Be… Because! You keep hanging around my sister, who do you think you are?!"

Laxus' eye twitched. "She's the one who hangs around me. I'm not going to be a dick and tell her to fuck off!"

"You should!" Pandora seethed. "I would prefer it if you did!"

Laxus stared at her with irritation. He didn't get why this girl was all angry with him for just socializing with her little sister. She liked to hang around him and people in the guild teased him about being Karissa's brother since they were growing close to each other. Wait. His eyebrows shot up. Was that it?

A smirk appeared on his lips when he realized why Pandora was all angry with him. "I get it. You just have a little sister complex, huh?" he teased her and she just looked surprised by what he said. "No wonder you keep—"

With click of her tongue, Pandora turned on her heel and walked away from him angrily. "Shut up!"

Laxus was seriously fed up with the oldest Sinclost. "This girl is weird as hell."

…

…

…

On Master Makarov's orders, Laxus and Pandora were forced to go on a job together. He knew what he was doing when he decided that. However, he figured that this would be a good way to get them on good terms once they got to know each other.

It was quiet. The two were sitting across from each other in the train and no one was willing to talk to the other. Pandora had made it clear that she hated him while Laxus just didn't want to deal with her at all.

The black haired girl peeked up at Laxus timidly and just saw him with his eyes closed as he listened to his music. This made her lower her eyes and look outside the window. She knew she was in the wrong but she just couldn't help but lash out like she did. It was her self-defense mechanism.

"… Hey, Laxus."

The boy opened his eyes slowly and shifted his eyes towards her, he didn't bother verbally answering her.

"About last time…"

Laxus only sighed tiredly and closed his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to talk about some argument she started. "Look, I really don't care—"

"I got mad at you because my sister relies on you. I don't like it. I'd rather she rely on me since…" Pandora trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. Laxus reopened his eyes at stared at her with little confusion. "Never mind. Just… I'm sorry for lashing out at you."

The blonde mage just continued staring at her. He wasn't used to this version of Pandora. He was used to seeing the distant and angry looking Pandora that hated him, not the vulnerable looking girl that had an empty look in her eyes.

She was weird that's for sure.

"Good job, Karissa!" Pandora squealed and hugged her sister tightly in front of everyone.

After being informed of the situation and the reason why the girls could finally move, Pandora wasted no time in praising her sister. The younger sister kept a smirk on her face, it was always nice to get some every now and then. She enjoyed it very much.

"Well, this is Karissa we're talking about." Cana smirked. "She wouldn't let Evergreen take her down."

Karissa only rolled her eyes and huffed. "It took a little while because that damn woman kept flying around to avoid getting hit. Pretty damn annoying."

"Speaking of Evergreen…" Levy looked around. "Where did she go?"

"Erza brought her to the infirmary when she interrogated her to find out where Laxus is hiding." Bisca informed with an uneasy smile since she knew Erza's methods were going to be scary. "She already left after Evergreen told her."

"Juvia saw her leave." The blue haired mage added.

"I'd hate to be in Evergreen's shoes…" Lucy muttered.

Makarov grinned happily at the girls who were alright. "But now that you girls are back to normal, I have no intention of playing Laxus' twisted game!"

Bisca was unsatisfied with that. "But we have to teach Laxus a lesson after everything that happened or else he'll never learn!"

"And don't I know it!" Makarov huffed and crossed his arms. "I'll give him a punishment he'll never forget! Damn it, Laxus! You may have gotten away with a lot in the past, but not this time!"

Natsu held up his hand to stop everyone from talking. "Wait one minute. I agree with you guys that he took the wrong path, setting up friends and forcing them to fight against each other. But I can't help but go along with Laxus' goal of figuring out who's the strongest in Fairy Tail."

"Natsu." Karissa deadpanned and walked over to him. "You really going to turn a blind eye to Laxus threatening lives?"

"Well, not really." Natsu tipped his head with a shrug. "But like I said, this was to find out who was the strongest."

Karissa flicked him on the eyebrow. "Dummy."

"Hey!"

"You're really simple minded."

Natsu grabbed her wrist with a goofy grin when she tried flicking him again. "C'mon, you guys shouldn't get too angry at Laxus. Okay, gramps? And so…!" Natsu threw his hands in the air. "The Second Battle of Fairy Tail starts now! Bring it on, everyone!"

"Don't even think about it!" Makarov yelled.

However, while Natsu was ready to start the second battle royal of Fairy Tail, the entrance started glitching in red until a skull with a lightning bolt across its fast appeared. More red glitches appeared around the guildhall until they were surrounded by them. It was no secret that this was Laxus' doing.

"Can you hear me, old man? Same goes for the rest of you."

"What do you want?!" Pandora snapped angrily. Laxus didn't entertain her with a response.

"It seems that one of the rules is gone. So, I'll make a new rule now. In order for the Battle of Fairy Tail to continue, I have activated the Thunder Palace. You have one hour and ten minutes left. Do you think you can beat me? Or do you want to retire now, Master?"

Laxus didn't even wait for a reply since the screens started glitching out and disappearing, leaving nothing but his sadistic laughter to echo in the building.

"What are you thinking, Laxus?!" Makarov yelled, absolute furious and fed up with his grandson's game. "You intend to involve everyone, whether they have a connect to the guild or not—?! Ugh…" The guild master froze and then gripped the front of his coat as he winced, alarming everyone. He dropped on his knees while still clutching his coat.

Mirajane quickly ran off to find his medicine while the girls and Natsu were left shaken up by the sight. It was terrible to see their parent figure in pain on the floor almost curled up.

"Master!"

"Hang in there!"

Mirajane was grabbing Makarov's medicine from a nearby cabinet when she noticed something floating in the sky. When she looked out the window, she noticed that they were forming a ring around the whole town. Concerned by the sight, she quickly ran back to where everyone was and informed them about the strange things in the sky.

…

…

…

Levy gasped. "Are those… lightning lacrima?"

"And they're surrounding the entire town…" Cana grimaced at the sight. "Each of those lacrima stores a great deal of magical thunder energy. So, this Thunder Palace is probably… He's aiming it at Magnolia."

Lucy pointed at the sky worriedly. "So what happens if those things discharge?!"

Pandora rubbed her temples in annoyance. "The whole town will get struck by lightning."

Stressed by the situation, Karissa scratched her neck in irritation. "Laxus… that's too far." She whirled around to look at Natsu who was looking concerned with Happy.

Good. At least you get how serious this is now.

Bisca decided to take action by summoning her rifle and aiming it at one of the lacrima. She shot it and it was easily destroyed, leaving only but mere fragments that sparkled in the sun when they fell. However, Bisca was given a reprimand by the lacrima and was utterly electrified by it.

She collapsed unconscious on the floor.

"Hey! Bisca!"

Karissa gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes at the lacrima. "It's has an Organic Link!"

A nasty consequence for destroying the lacrima in the air. Those who dare try and successfully destroy them will be struck back with the equal magic power to what they delivered.

The objective was clear. They needed to find Laxus and stop him.

With only the girls searching for Laxus, the probability of finding him quickly was going to be extremely low when they lived in such a big town. Even so, they needed to find him with haste or else so many were going to be hurt from his dumb game.

The female ice mage then stopped in her tracks when she remembered something.

Warren. He just returned from a job. Telepathy.

Karissa caught a glimpse of a member lying on the ground.

If I can find Warren, I can ask him to use his magic to tell those who have woken up from their fights to locate Laxus. With more people searching for Laxus, the faster this dumb game can end!

With a grin for her smart idea, she quickly ran towards the other side of town where she remembered running past Warren's body. She was just hoping he didn't get up and move. He needed to stay put until she found him.

"Um, excuse me?"

Karissa skidded to a stop when an elderly woman spoke to her. "Um, y-yes?"

The elderly woman smiled at her. "You're a Fairy Tail member, aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah." She nodded.

"My goodness, every single one of you are running around today. I wonder what's happening. Is everything alright?"

Karissa offered the lady a small polite smile. "Oh, don't worry. We're just gathering stuff for the Fantasia event. Some members didn't do their part so we have to work together to get it done." She lied easily with a nod.

"Oh, I see." The lady put a hand on her mouth and laughed in amusement. She waved her hand. "Alright, I won't trouble you now. I'm looking forward to the parade."

As soon as Karissa turned around and continued running, her smile just dropped and she grimaced for lying. She was a good liar but she didn't like lying to hide the fact that they were in a danger zone.

Ah damn, I forgot about Bickslow and Freed! They might get in the way of the search since they're the only ones left from the Raijin Tribe…

"Shit…"

Her mind was so focused on going back to the area where Warren was that she no longer paid attention to her surroundings. It was only when someone ran in front of her at the last second when she left an alleyway that she snapped out of her focus and slammed on her breaks. She let out a shout of fright and ran into the person after tripping over her own dumb feet.

It was Gray.

He all but let out a shout too when she barreled into him. He stumbled backwards from the loss of balance and eventually just fell back into the next alleyway up ahead with her on top of him.

They both groaned from the fall.

"My bad…" her voice was muffled in his shirt. Her nose was hurting a little.

"Gah… It's fine, are you alright?" Gray pushed himself up with his elbows.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Karissa pushed herself up with her arms. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I—" When she lifted her head, her nose just brushed against his and they froze. Both their eyes widened, dark blue looking straight into dark brown. Their proximity… they were way too close. She was still on him, and their faces were barely a few centimeters away. Awkward. Instantly, she recoiled her head away and immediately said the first thing on her mind after getting a good look at his face.

"What happened to you?! Who got you?!" Karissa grabbed his face that faintly reddened while she straddled him and stared at his roughed-up face to try and calm herself from feeling too much embarrassment. Nah. She was starting to feel her skin prickling from nervousness.

"Uh, B-Bickslow." Gray took her hands off his face and cleared his throat when he looked away. He took her hand and got back on his feet when she stood up and held it out to him. "I blacked out earlier. So, what's the situation? And what are those things in the air?"

"I took out Evergreen so Lucy and the others are fine. But now, Laxus set a new rule to his dumb game." She grabbed his wrist and tugged him along with her out the alleyway so she could point at the lacrima in the sky when they got a better view. "This is the Thunder Palace. Lightning will go off in an hour or so if we don't find Laxus and stop him."

"What?! But then the whole town is in danger now!" Gray growled, his face clouded in anger. But then he put his hands together to cast a spell. "We have to destroy them to stop his Thunder Palace."

Karissa quickly put down his hands and shook her head fast. "Don't! Bisca tried that and she got electrocuted from it! You destroy them, they hit back."

"Great, a stupid Organic Link spell." Gray rolled his eyes. "Big deal. So, what if we got zapped a little?"

"Gray…" Karissa frowned. "It's going to seriously hurt."

She had a front row seat to witnessing the effects of the drawbacks of destroying the lacrima. She didn't want that happening to the two of them. Finding another solution seemed much safer.

"It's better than letting the town suffer." He shot back easily which made Karissa a little at loss for words. But the longer she stared at his determined face, the more she agreed with him. He was right. What's a little pain in exchange for saving their town? It's not like they'll die from it.

Fairy Tail is known for being reckless anyway.

She chuckled with a smile. "I'm looking for Warren. Right now, only the girls are searching for Laxus, but I don't think we'll find him in time. I'm hoping some members will be awake to help with the search once I ask Warren to deliver the message. But I'm thinking we should just tell everyone to destroy the lacrima instead."

This made Gray smirk when she agreed with him. "Alright. I'll help you search for him!"

Karissa grinned and set off with Gray following behind her.

It wasn't easy finding him. To her immeasurable vexation, Warren had woken up and walked off somewhere, making their task harder while time was running out.

They were surprised Bickslow and Freed hadn't found them while they searched.

But when they did find him, Warren was scared shitless when Karissa and Gray's voice boomed behind followed by Karissa's icicles flying past his face.

When Karissa and Gray explained everything to Warren, the telepathy user was quick to use his magic and connect everyone together. Warren advised them to keep a hand on his shoulders so that they would easily be connected to everyone else.

"Everybody who's down, get up now! Anybody still battling, break it up at least for now! Every one of you, listen to me! Those things in the sky are magic about to rain down destruction on everything! All of them without exception, are going to attack the town! They're Laxus' magic! We're out of time! We all have to do this!"

"Warren, how did you know about the Thunder Palace?" Erza's voice questioned.

"You can thank me for that." Karissa replied for Warren.

"It took a while to track him down though." Gray added.

"That's Erza?!"

"You're not stone anymore?! Alright!"

Guys who were concerned about certain girls who had been previously turned to stone were reassured that those girls were fine. Van expressed a sigh of relief when he heard Pandora's voice.

"I'm sorry but my telepathy isn't getting through to the guild! But in any case, everybody who can hear me… Those things floating in the sky—"

"Warren, you jerk… Have you forgotten what you did to me?!" Max's voice snapped at Warren which made the telepathic user flinch. He quickly had a spazzy look on his face as he tried to defend himself.

"Max… Now's really not the time…" Karissa told him but he only scoffed in annoyance.

"If only you knew how he took me down!"

"Oh, that's right! Can you hear this, Alzack?!"

"You too, Nigy! Damn it!"

Gray's eye twitched as different arguments started echoing in his mind. They seriously didn't have time for this. He grabbed Warren and shouted in his ear angrily. "Save your fighting for later!"

"You got no right to say anything!" Everyone roared back.

Are you serious?

"Hey! Shut the hell up! You guys deaf or what?!" Karissa snapped, losing patience. "Didn't you hear what Warren said?! We're out of time!"

"Exactly! We need to destroy those things in the sky!" Gray yelled even louder.

"Guys… please! My ears…!" Warren cried. The two ice mages were going to render him deaf at this point.

"You'll get yours after we tear those things down!" Max yelled.

"Macao, you can't handle this! Sleep this one out!"

"What's that Wakaba?! Don't go putting airs, old man!"

Karissa rolled her eyes in relief and removed her hand off Warren's shoulder, everyone was ready to set aside their petty arguments. Erza ordered them to focus on everything in the south while she took on two hundred in the north. She got into position next to Gray and created at least fifteen clock hands of ice that were pointed directly at the lacrima, ready to fire off.

On Gray's signal, all guild members released their magic towards the lacrima, creating a plethora of magic shooting into the sky. Once every single one of them was shattered, the town was decorated in golden confetti from the fragments of the lacrima. It was a nice sight considering how it was the Harvest Festival, it was adding to the mood. It almost made Karissa forget about the pain that was about to come.

Almost.

Karissa blinked. "Ah."

All of a sudden, lightning that was worth fifteen destroyed lacrima was fired back at her and she was screaming from being electrocuted. Dear god it was more painful than what she imagined. Warren and Gray were also screaming in pain from the electrocution. Similar screaming was being heard all over Magnolia after bolts of lightning flashed.

The three of them dropped on the ground, utterly weak from the lightning.

Warren groaned. "Hey… Is it just me or do I smell meat?"

"No…" Karissa moaned and rolled to lie on her back. "That's the smell of our burning flesh…"

"Fuck..." Gray gasped and croaked.

"Is everyone okay?" Erza asked them all.

"Fucking dead over here." Karissa replied in a daze.

"Same…" Van gasped.

"That about sums up everyone's condition…" Macao groaned. "You okay old man?"

Wakaba clicked his tongue. "Shut your trap, Macao…"

Erza laughed a little. "Honestly, you are all reckless."

"Yeah…" Gray huffed. "That goes for you too."

After a few seconds, the connection was eventually cut since Warren couldn't keep it up anymore.

Gray turned his head to look at Karissa who was lying a few feet away from him and staring at the sky with a dazed look, mouth half-open and eyes half-lidded.

"Karissa… you doing okay?" Gray croaked.

"… Yeah…"

"You sure…?" Warren turned his head to look at her too. "You took out like fifteen of those. I only took out one… I can't imagine how painful it was to get fifteen times more than what I got…"

"It's not fun… but hey, it was worth it, right?"

Warren and Gray could only chuckle despite the pain.

"Yeah."

Home was safe.

Not long after, she just let herself fall into the embrace of unconsciousness.

…

…

…

Once the battle between the dragon slayers at Kardia Cathedral was over, everyone was more or less feeling better to get up and move. Warren went on ahead to find Max and apologize again while Gray was left behind with Karissa who still didn't want to move from her spot. She was still feeling out of it.

He was squatting next to her.

"Man, that lightning really hit you hard."

"No shit. My legs feel numb… I'll be fine maybe after an hour." She looked at him with an exaggerated look of pain. "Go on without me." She told him dramatically while trying to lift her hand.

"You sure about that?" He raised a singular brow at her. "You want me to leave you here?"

She dropped her hand. "No, I was kidding. Please don't."

Gray sighed and ran his fingers through his dark locks. "You're hopeless." He gave her an amused smile.

"You try getting hit by lightning that's worth fifteen lacrimas! We're not built like Erza!"

"I guess we gotta go like this." He shrugged and started helping her sit up while she just looked at him in confusion before gasping when he started putting her on his back. She didn't have enough strength to just slip out of his grasp and walk off.

Karissa frowned and didn't make an effort to cross her arms around his neck just in case he changed his mind. "Hey, you sure? We both got hit by lightning."

He suddenly jolted her up on his back which made her squeak in surprise. He laughed at the sound and started walking. "I can make it back to the guild like this no problem. Besides, you need help getting back... unless you were lying just now which I doubt."

Karissa softly rested her chin on his shoulder, slowly submitting to him. A little embarrassment is what she felt right now.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

She fell silent for a moment, and he thought she fell asleep, until she lifted her head. "Don't I weigh like a whale?" she asked casually to try and mask a small insecurity. It was rare for anyone to carry her while she was conscious so she suddenly felt self-conscious about it. She knew she wasn't as light as a feather, no one was.

Gray glanced at her. "What are you talking about? You weigh just fine."

"Uh, well… I was just asking. I know I have a healthy weight last time I checked. But I was just curious if I was uh… heavy to carry." She admitted shyly, resting her chin back on his shoulder where the fur of his jacket tickled her cheek.

They started going down a short set of stairs.

He laughed lightly. "If I can run in a forest with you in my arms with no problem, then you're not heavy."

That caused Karissa to chuckle with amusement on his shoulder. "Big boy Gray putting his muscles to work."

"You saying I haven't?"

"I might be saying you just have those for show."

"I'll drop you right now." There was a teasing tone in his voice.

"I'll bite your ear off if you try."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?"

"You know what? I'm not going to try my luck."

"Good boy." Karissa grinned with smug for winning their little back-and-forth and ruffled his hair playfully. He rolled his eyes as her laughter vibrated on his back.

They were both grinning from their little banter. It was nice to enjoy a little moment of laughter after all that just happened.

As they walked in the street, she crossed her arms around his neck and sighed into his shoulder.

"You okay?"

Karissa hummed. "Just a little tired. I'm getting sleepy… I might doze off. G'night."

"Hey! Don't sleep! We'll reach the guild in less then three minutes." Gray jolted her on his back to wake her which she whined in protest for. She tightened her arms around his neck. "But you're warm and the fur on your jacket is freaking soft." Karissa nuzzled her face in the fur to emphasize her point.

"Seriously…?"

"Yes, now don't be mean. Lemme sleep a little."

He shook his head lightly. "Alright, fine. But don't get grumpy on me when I wake you up."

Gray just felt her hum softly on his shoulder, and she was already falling asleep in record time. His lips curved at her easy going attitude as he carried her off.

…

…

…

Unbeknownst to the two ice mages, Lucy was watching them from the side while she walked with Happy flying by her side.

"Hey, Lucy, what's with the creepy face?"

The blonde inhaled in annoyance at the blue cat's unnecessary remark. "There's nothing creepy about my face!"

Happy gave her an unconvinced look. "I dunno… you a had creepy smile…"

"Quit saying creepy!" Lucy snapped. Her finger flew up and she pointed at the two mages up ahead. "I was looking at Gray and Karissa. Those two are so close, it's pretty cute." She remarked with a small grin. "Don't they ever fight?"

"The last time they had a fight was when they were ten." Happy sighed and shook his head. "I heard Gray got all embarrassed when people started teasing him about liking her. He pushed her away from him and she fell off her chair."

"Seriously?!"

"Stop sticking so close to me!"

Gray flinched when he realized what he just did.

Karissa stared up at him in shock and disbelief.

"Gray!" Cana reprimanded him. "What was that for, you jerk?!"

"I… uh, I didn't mean to! Hey… Karissa…"

Karissa felt hurt and angry for being treated that way, and she just growled. She raised her leg and slammed it against her chair, pushing her seat towards him which sent him falling to the ground.

Without another word, Karissa stormed out of the guildhall without so much as looking back at him. Macao and Wakaba saw the hint of sadness on her face and looked at Gray with a pointed look.

Natsu, who had his hands behind his head, just gave Gray an unimpressed look. "Man, I knew you were a jerk but you just levelled up to mega-jerk now."

Gray looked down with a guilty look.

"Well, he didn't mean to push her off." Happy shrugged. "Karissa got all angry at him and kicked her chair towards him before giving him the silent treatment for two whole days. That's how long it took for him to apologize."

"Wait, why did it take two days?"

"Natsu told me she kept avoiding him like the plague. Laxus thought it was funny to see Gray all flustered and desperate so he also helped her run away from him."

Lucy giggled at the thought. "He must have felt really guilty."

"But they made up after Gray cornered her in the bathroom."

The blonde sweat dropped after a brief pause. "… The bathroom?" she repeated.

"Don't ask me, I wasn't even born back then. I'm just telling you what I heard!"

Lucy was guessing that Karissa probably gave in after seeing how persistent Gray was being. But still, it was interesting to learn how Gray was so determined to make up with her. It just showed how much their friendship meant to him. She could tell it was the same for Karissa too.

Erza stepped out of the infirmary and went to present herself in front of the members who were eagerly waiting for her. She gave them all a reassuring smile. "Due to Porlyusica's efforts, the Master's life has been saved. So relax. The Master will be just fine."

Karissa sighed in relief. That's good.

"That's wonderful!" Lucy happily smiled. "I was really worried for a while there!"

Gray grinned with the others. "Gramps won't go out so easily!"

"But the Master is no young man." Erza reminded. "If we pile on too many strains, he could take a turn for the worse. I ask that you all keep that in mind."

"But we'll still go through with the Fantasia in his condition?" Elfman looked unsure.

Mirajane smiled with a nod, her pretty face had a bandage patch. "It's what the Master wants. And you could say that his condition calls for something like this. However, he has agreed to delay the Fantasia to tomorrow night just so more members can participate."

The water mage clasped her hands together with an excited smile. "Juvia is also looking forward to seeing the Fantasia!"

Cana looked at the water mage in confusion when she heard her while she passed by her table. "What? Don't you know that you're participating?"

"But Juvia just joined!" the water mage protested.

"Well, we do have a lot of injured people! The rule is: anyone who can still move has to participate." Happy stuffed some fish in his mouth.

Lucy whirled around with a gasp. "Then I'm in it too?!"

"Again," Karissa gave her an apathetic look. "Weren't you listening to the meetings? And we kind of need you to now."

"Yeah." Gray agreed and looked over his shoulder. "Because they can't."

Sitting on a far away bench were the two Dragon Slayers: Gajeel and Natsu. They both looked fifty percent bandage after their fight with Laxus.

"But ahh, now that the Fantasia is getting closer… I feel like backing out." Karissa groaned and hid her face in her arms when she leaned on the table.

"Oh no, you're not." Gray leaned on his arm and lightly bonked her on the head with his hand. "You said you weren't going to back out, remember? You swore."

Karissa scratched the back of her neck. "But…"

Lucy blinked curiously. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Do you not like the Fantasia?" Juvia questioned.

"No... it's not that." Karissa lifted her face and jutted out her bottom lip to huff and push her bangs out of her face. "I have to wear this dress for the Fantasia… I don't wear dresses. I can feel the pre-embarrassment already."

"Right… you're more of a casual with pants type of girl, aren't you?" Lucy remarked.

Gray grinned at her suffering and patted her back. "It'll be nice to see you in one." He told her teasingly which only made her swat his hand away.

"Juvia won't lose!" The water mage suddenly proclaimed with a burst of jealousy that was directed towards Karissa who only gave her a confused expression. Gray and Lucy also looked at the water mage strangely.

"Huh?"

The hell, why is she staring at me like that?

All of a sudden, the guild fell dead silent. Lucy, Gray, Karissa and Juvia ceased their conversation and looked around only to find Laxus Dreyaer standing at the doorway of the entrance building. The tension in the air was thick when he marched in with his own bandages and his long coat fluttering behind him. He had fought Natsu and Gajeel inside Kardia Cathedral, and lost, hence the bandages.

"Laxus!"

"Why you…!"

"Where's the old man?" the lightning mage got straight to the point.

"You…!"

"No matter how much you hang your head, you think we'll let you see the Master?"

"Yeah!"

"That's right!"

So many people were now blocking his path, determined to get in his way and drive him away. That is until Erza stepped forward, silencing them all before giving him the information he wanted.

"Erza…!"

Everyone was beyond baffled that the S-Class mage was willing to just let him waltz in and see their Master after the chaos he caused. Laxus was making his way there while everyone watched with uneasy silence until Natsu just slid in front of him with muffled yells. He continued yelling incomprehensible sounds that could only be translated with the help of Gajeel. After a few more muffled yells, Laxus walked pass Natsu and went straight to the infirmary.

Karissa could only stare silently as the older mage walked off in silence. Her heart couldn't help but feel worried for Laxus and his upcoming punishment. She just hoped it wasn't anything too bad. Her bond with Laxus may have withered away but she still cared about him to some degree.

It was almost time for the Fantasia.

And Karissa was a nervous wreck.

Earlier, she had to timidly ask Mirajane to help out with her outfit since she had no idea if she was putting it on right. She was wearing an entirely blue dress that varied in shades with a white collar and front that was tied up with a light blue ribbon, azure bell-shaped sleeves. The only thing she was grateful for in her outfit was the slip on shoes she wore underneath. No one could see her feet anyway.

She was able to resist make up after fleeing from the designated makeup artists. Pandora had to fend them off since Karissa was practically hissing at them.

Pandora wore a similar dress to the one she wore during the Miss Fairy Tail contest, the only difference is that it was purple. She was also wearing purple jewel earrings.

She somehow met up with her brother, who mercilessly complimented her and teased her much to her embarrassment, and was hiding behind his back while they walked through the guildhall, not that it would help since her back was exposed anyway. Her brother was wearing a black overcoat with long sleeves that ended with white frill-like fabric over a white undershirt with a large collar that was folded over the collar of his overcoat while it was tied by a green ribbon tied in a bow, he wore white dress pants and brown dress shoes.

The Sinclost siblings looked like a family of nobles.

She eventually peeled herself off her brother who had something to attend to, and she leaned back against the wall next to a window, watching everyone talk and laugh. She was trying to calm herself down since her heart was beating fast. This always happened. She just got so nervous when she thought about how she shouldn't mess up in the parade.

I'm seriously not used to this… this dress. It makes me feel weird.

The black haired girl bit the inside of her cheek. She really needed to calm down or else her skin was going to get all itchy.

"Karissa?"

She flinched at the voice.

Timidly, she peeked at the person. Gray was standing there in his Fantasia outfit. He was dressed like a prince.

He looks… good in that.

She saw his eyes widened when he looked at her face, and then her outfit.

When Gray took in the sight of her, he was a little awestruck. No, he was filled with it. She really looked beautiful in it. Perhaps because it was first time he saw her in such an outfit. And for some reason he couldn't explain, the look of nobility suited her.

"Wow you look… beautiful." He breathed, blinking.

Karissa'e eyes widened at the compliment and she desperately willed herself to keep it together. The last thing she needed was to get all flustered when she was already nervous. She was expecting some teasing remark or something like that. She didn't think she was to see him so astonished by the sight of her. Did Mirajane add something on her dress that she wasn't aware of? That compliment was enough to get her even more flustered since she rarely heard that compliment directed towards her. But yet, she felt strangely empowered at the same time. He was in awe and she caused it.

She never caused someone to be like that before.

It made her be a little honest.

"You look great too." She failed to hide a smile.

"Thanks, I—"

"It'd be a shame and an embarrassment if you stripped off your clothes during the parade though. You're gonna look like fool up there in your underwear~"

Somehow the bantering just came naturally.

"Come on," he sighed and crossed his arms. "Give me a little more credit. I have self control."

Karissa giggled and tucked an annoying hair behind her ear. "To some degree, yes."

Gray blinked when he noticed she was wearing the earrings he for bought her in Novera. She didn't let the way he was staring at her ears slip past her.

"Oh, um, they told me to put something on my ears…" she started explaining before he could ask while reaching up to fidget with it. "So, I just decided to make my life easier and wear the ones I already had."

"It suits you." He told her simply much like when she did when he wore his necklace for the first time.

She smirked when she realized it. "You know me well, huh?"

His lips curved to the side. "Wouldn't it be odd if I didn't?"

"It would."

The two were smiling at each other. Gray leaned back on the wall next to her and they talked together to kill time. Karissa admitted that she was nervous about the parade but he reassured her that she would do fine just like she did every year. She knew she did, but she just couldn't help but feel nervous. That somehow brought them back to the memory where she and Gray had to set up a whole ice performance during the parade. They grinned and laughed when they recalled how there was a moment where Natsu nearly broke one of their ice sculptures during the performance and made them panic like crazy when they thought it would fall on the townspeople. The expressions they had on their faces when they looked at each other was absolutely priceless. They had to control their laughter during the rest of the parade.

Their conversation was cut short when Warren used his telepathy to tell everyone to get ready since the parade would start in less than six minutes. That was their cue to part ways and get ready.

When they approached some stairs, Gray held out his hand teasingly and said. "Lady Karissa."

Karissa deadpanned for a moment and then turned her head to giggle in amusement from how weird it felt to be addressed that way. She looked back at him and rolled her eyes. "Why, thank you." She drawled as she put her hand in his. "But seriously, I'm scared of tripping and smashing my face." She told him as she carefully took her first step.

Amused, he smiled and started going down. "I got you." He assured and closed his fingers around her hand and made sure she got down safely.

When Karissa parted ways with Gray, she hurried over to where her siblings were waiting for her. The nervousness she felt earlier had gone down a little thanks to her talk with Gray so she wasn't too self-conscious about the numerous pairs of eyes around her.

When she got there, Cana, Wakaba and Macao were there since her float was right after hers. Cana approached her with a grin and put her arm around her.

"Ready for the Fantasia, Karissa?"

"I guess, and I'm ready to eat when it's all over." Karissa poked her tongue out in from the corner of her mouth, already anticipating the tasty food.

"Ohhh, I'm gonna drink when it's all over. That'll be perfect to end my night!" she proclaimed proudly which Macao scolded her and told her to cut down on the alcohol for once.

"Always, drinking." Karissa sighed in amusement. Was alcohol really that addicting? She couldn't understand how Cana became hooked on it.

"Why don't you drink with me?"

"Sorry. Nope. Not happening. If you want, I'll drink water with you."

Cana groaned. "Again, you're such a pure child."

Karissa gave her a fox grin with a curt nod. "Thank you."

"Anyway..." Cana smirked and leaned her face closer to her. Karissa looked at her with an arched brow. "Lady Karissa being escorted down the stairs by Prince Gray, huh?"

Karissa knitted her brows at the titles. "Really? Lady? Prince?"

"Well, you do look like it." Cana pointed out. "You look so pretty though. I bet Gray also thought the same when he saw you."

Karissa recalled the memory of Gray complimenting her just moments ago. When Cana noticed she didn't respond, she looked at her face and noticed how blank her face looked. It made her eyebrows shoot up.

"What did our local stripper say when he saw you?"

"Nothing much… he just said I looked good."

Cana gave her a skeptical look.

"What?"

"Be a hundred percent honest please."

"I'm serious."

"Yeah, no."

"I'm just giving you a simplified version of what he said."

The card user gave her an exasperated look. "Give me the full version."

"Fine. He said… I, uh, looked beautiful." The word felt so weird on her tongue.

Karissa wondered why Cana suddenly had a smirk on her face.

Cana was good friends with Gray and Karissa since they usually interacted together whenever they were at the guild. So, she obviously got a front row seat of their interactions. But now, there was a gut feeling that something interesting was probably bound to happen because ever since the mind control incident, the two have been seen together quite a lot lately. The pain must have brought them closer.

Love is like a seed. Those kind of seeds were special since no one could really tell when it would fully bloom. It needs to be nurtured well so it can grow and blossom into love one day.

The black haired girl narrowed her eyes. "What's up with that smirk?"

"Oh, nothing."

Nothing, my ass.

Karissa didn't have time to question it since Master Makarov began his announcement for the beginning of the Fantasia parade. Everyone was completely ready for the parade. Fairy Tail had many members so not everyone could be on floats, not that it mattered since they could just float in the air or simply just walk next to floats.

…

…

As Karissa stared at the magic and the people around her, it made her feel exhilarated. The same was for Van and Pandora.

"It's the Sinclost siblings!"

"Wow!"

Karissa stood in the center with Van on the left and Pandora on the right. After a quick inhale, she used her wind magic to slowly circulate around the float while accumulating a bit of wind before flying upwards in a spiral of wind. Van reached behind him and touched the block of stone behind him, overhauling it. Pandora's hands glowed with light.

The gentle wind exploded, and crystals of ice glitter down. A moon made of stone floated in the air with stars of stone. The ice and stones were glowing in the air thanks to Pandora's magic. Then droplets of golden light fell around them.

"Wow! It's so pretty!"

The three of them smiled at each other. The Fantasia event reminded them of how glad they were to have come to Fiore years ago.

In the shadows, a young man with blonde hair watched the Sinclost family's float pass by in front of him. He had a soft look on his face when he watched their little performance.

The Fantasia was a success as usual. When everyone regrouped back inside the guild, the whole place was lively, and it got even more lively after Master Makarov praised them all for a job well done and told them to enjoy the final night of the Harvest Festival to their heart's content.

After changing out of their clothes and into more comfortable ones, everyone was filing out of the guildhall.

Karissa was dressed in some flexible fitted jeans, a black shirt and a blue sweater that she didn't bother zipping up. It felt so much better to wear the clothes she was used to. She stretched her arms and let out a pleasant sound before leaning against Lucy lazily who nearly stumbled.

The blonde raised a singular brow. "You seriously tired?"

"Nah. Just bored of waiting for the others— oh, look." Karissa straightened up when she found Natsu and Happy coming their way.

"Hey, Natsu!" Karissa greeted with a grin. "How are you feeling~?"

"Mppff."

Karissa laughed at the sound he made beneath his bandages which made Happy sigh. "You know he couldn't answer you properly."

"Obviously. Man, how are you gonna communicate without Gajeel the translator to help you?"

Natsu deadpanned. "Mmm, mffmph, mm, mphff."

Karissa nodded with a serious look. "Right, I know Gray is your bestie. You guys can hold hands and you can probably transfer your thoughts to him." She feigned an innocent smile while his face twitched. "I'm sure you'd like that, right Natsu? I'll help you hold his hand!"

"MFFMPH?! MMFFH MMHH!"

The girl only giggled in amusement when Natsu came up to her face and stomped his feet on the ground as he tried to convey his disgust. Happy and Lucy just sighed at Natsu. Karissa nodded with a lopsided grin and then ruffled his pink hair when he finished his sentence. The dragon slayer's shoulders just slumped and gave up when he realized it was pointless to protest when he was all bandages and muffles.

"What's going on here?" a deep voice asked.

"Oh, hey Gray!" Lucy waved him over when she found him walking towards them.

Erza appeared around the corner and joined them. "Is everyone here?"

Karissa nodded.

"Mpphff."

Gray put his hands in his jackets' pockets and grinned. "Then let's get going. I'm ready to eat."

Erza smiled and put a hand on her hip. "Yes, I'm quite hungry. If we get going now, I'm sure we'll make it in time to get seconds."

"Alright!" Lucy grinning excitedly, ready to try out some of the Harvest Festival's food for the first time. "Let's go!"

Karissa fell into step with Gray and then casually asked, "Yo, Gray, you wanna hold Natsu's hand?"

Gray turned his head and gave her a disgusted look. "No." he spat. "Why would you ask that?"

Natsu, who overheard her with his sharp hearing, snapped his head towards her and started saying more things that were muffled away. Karissa only grinned like a fox.

"Karissa…" Lucy sweat dropped with a sigh. "Stop antagonizing him."

From the shadows, the same young man watched Team Natsu from afar. His yellow eyes were fixed on the black haired girl that was talking with the Celestial mage. He wanted to walk over to her but his feet remained glued on the pavement. With a sigh, he ran his fingers in his hair.

"Okay, creep. Why do you keep staring at her?"

They turned their head and found Pandora Sinclost standing behind him a few feet away with her arms crossed. She looked at him suspiciously while she drummed her fingers. They didn't answer as fast she liked.

"Well, Laxus?"

"It's nothing."

Pandora arched a brow as he looked away from her. She examined him from head to toe and noticed that he looked ready to head out of town. But then she gasped softly when she saw something in his hands. The colour that stood out of the object was cerulean. It was a wireless headphone. There were flat lacrima crystal on its outer sides. It was a variation of the Lacrima Model.

Laxus was a fan of the Sound Pod model he was wearing right now. He wouldn't have a need for the Lacrima Model...

The older sister's face softened in realization but then her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer to him. "Really? After everything that happened? You just want to hide and not give it to her?"

Laxus clicked his tongue and shrugged off her hand when she grabbed his shoulder. "I'd just ruin the mood." He argued.

"Don't chicken out of this." Pandora firmly told him.

"You know she feels uncomfortable around me." Laxus shot back.

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?"

"…"

"Exactly. So, go over there and give it to her."

He couldn't. Laxus couldn't just walk up to her and give it to her no matter how much he wanted to. After doing some reflecting, he realized that, deep inside, he still was a soft person for her. He just became an ass as an adult and was too stubborn to be soft because of how rude and arrogant he became. He didn't want her to feel discomfort just like all the times he was around her.

She should just enjoy the Harvest Festival with her friends, that's all she should focus on.

Laxus watched Team Natsu turn around a corner, disappearing from his sight. He took that as his cue for his depart.

"Here, just give it to her for me." He turned to the older sister and held it out to her. "She could use a new pair since hers are old."

"She said it's broken."

"All the more reason why she could use this, now take it."

"No. Do it yourself, you coward!"

Pandora was trying to help him and her sister get on better terms, but her guild master's dumb grandson was being a stubborn ass.

With an exasperated sigh, Laxus just quickly put it around her neck before she could fight him off her. She said annoyed version of his name with a glare and tried to give back to him, but she froze when she felt his hand gently palm the side of her face. Her cheeks were tinted red from the sudden touch. Silence fell between them.

She locked eyes with him and saw fondness in them.

"You looked good in the parade."

"… Wh… What…?"

She stared up at him and saw a faint smile on his face just before he slipped off his hand off her cheek, leaving a warmth that she thought she forgot. Her mind went completely blank.

Laxus found it a little amusing how her toughness just melted from a simple touch. It made him want to see more of it. It's too bad he couldn't.

"Take care of yourself." was all he said before walking off. She didn't know where he was going. Her feet didn't make a move to chase after him. Instead, she just stood there overwhelmed from that simple touch that brought back the memories of the past.

Before he became so arrogant and rude, he was definitely a kind person who was easy to get along with if someone tried to get close to him. Karissa was proof of that. However, the youngest child of the Sinclost family wasn't the only person who had grown close to him. At some point, Pandora became good friends with him sometime after she apologized for being mean to him.

They became close enough to admit certain insecurities. Laxus was the only person who knew about what she hid about herself from her own family. Pandora was the first to know much the hated idea of being shadowed by Master Makarov with no way to prove himself.

Pandora groaned and planted herself on the ground where she proceeded to pull her knees up once she sat back against the wall. Her arms folded above her knees and she sighed after setting her forehead on them.

"Seriously? Now?"

Because the three that were on cleaning duty were asked to take on a last minute mission, Pandora and Laxus were asked to clean up in their place. The two didn't really have any complaints since they were free.

Their cleaning duty was basically just putting back the scattered books back inside the shelves inside the Archive room.

…

…

…

Up on a ladder, Pandora's eye twitched when Laxus didn't give her the book she needed. She whipped her head around and found him resting on a chair.

"Don't just sit there! Help me!"

Laxus yawned into his hand and then stretched in his chair. "We've been here for an hour already… I'm tired."

Pandora rolled her eyes. "We're almost done. Come on."

"If I knew it was going to be this tiring, I would have refused."

"So why did you even bother volunteering with me?" Pandora asked flatly.

Laxus didn't respond right away. "I was bored." He lolled his head away and closed his eyes.

"I smell bullshit." Pandora adjusted her footing on the ladder only for her foot to slip, causing her to shriek. Laxus' eyes shot open and his head automatically snapped towards her. He found her grasping at the tall shelf with a frighten yell which slightly tilted the book shelf, causing the books to rain down and literally scare her off the ladder.

She was falling.

Immediately, he shot up from his seat and shot towards her body that was falling with his magic. Once he caught her, they both fell on the hard floor and just waited for the rest of the books to fall. Two or three books landed harshly on his head.

The books were scattered everywhere on the floor. Laxus' arms loosened around Pandora who sat on her knees and groaned at the mess. They were almost done! Now they were going to stay in the Archives room until sundown!

Laxus sat up with her in between his long legs. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Pandora exhaled a sigh and then looked at him worriedly. "Are you okay? I think you got hit on the head…"

"It's not… bad." Laxus' sentence slowed down when he saw her scoot closer to him and stand on her knees to gently soothe his head to a soft hand. The blonde mage just froze and stared up at the girl who tried to ease his pain. She looked as if she was the one that directly caused him pain. It was stupid. She didn't have to look guilty.

Even with that silly worried look, she was still beautiful.

Sensing his eyes on her, she pulled her hands away and sat back down her knees. She was confused. Why was he staring at her like that? And why did she have a hard time looking away?

They were completely ignoring everything around them as they stared at the other. Time just stilled.

Laxus was the first to move after who knows how long. His hand gently held her face as he leaned closer to her. Pandora's breath hitched when she became hyperaware of the closing distance.

The door slammed open.

"Pandora!" Van's voice echoed.

The said girl practically leaped away while the boy moved back to create as much distance as possible. When Van looked down, he gasped in surprise at the sight.

"Whoa what happened in here…?"

"Things fell." Pandora quickly replied. "What do you need?" she asked almost harshly. She was a little upset about the interruption.

"Erza is looking for you!"

"Ugh."

Laxus got back up on his feet and dusted his pants. "Go. I'll start cleaning up."

"Um, okay..."

…

That chance for a kiss never happened again.

...

...

...

"I can't believe we ate that."

"It wasn't bad if you ask me."

Karissa cleaned her fingers with a napkin. "I guess. I mean, we've eaten weirder food on Galuna Island."

"Those villagers made good food." Gray remarked. "Or that might just be how I remember it since I didn't eat anything in hours..."

Team Natsu went their separate ways a few minutes ago after eating a bunch of food together. Erza was the first to separate since a group of interviewers from Sorcerer Weekly wanted to ask her questions. Erza was more than happy to oblige. Lucy followed Natsu and Happy after they spotted some good steak around the corner. Gray and Karissa used that opportunity to check out the stands on Crescent Moon street. They weren't exactly planning on eating too much since they were full.

But somehow, they ended up eating duck fetus at a table near a street lamp.

According to the vendor they bought it from, it was a popular street food in Bellum, a country in east. Gray was the one who was a little interested after the vendor said that only those with balls could actually eat it. Karissa ended up getting one too after she saw him buy one, but she immediately regretted it when reality sank in.

After a couple of uneasy laughs and weird expression, they fully ate it. Turns out, it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be.

"Would you eat another?" Karissa wondered curiously after she balled up the eggshells into the napkin.

"To be honest, yeah." Gray shrugged and pitched his balled up napkin into the nearest trash can. "It's really not that bad. Would you?"

Karissa threw her own and then let out a disappointed sound when it missed. "I think I would." She got out of her seat and went to throw it inside the trash can. "I don't know why, but I feel like I ate this once in my life."

Gray looked at her skeptically. "I doubt you'd forget eating a duck fetus."

Karissa laughed and shrugged when she sat back down. "Who knows, maybe my parents fed it to me when I was too young to comprehend anything, and the feeling of eating it just stayed with me. Maybe I was traumatized and I still have a slight memory of it. Who knows?"

Gray snickered at the thought of a young Karissa freaking out and screaming at a duck fetus that her father would be holding out to her. She'd probably grab it and fling it away.

As he snickered away at his own imagination, Karissa looked at his left hand that was resting flat on the table. She could see a line below his knuckles on the back of his hand, the scar she gave him. Her body leaned forward to take his hand in hers. His hand was bigger than hers. Gray blinked and looked at her when he felt her touching his hand and inspecting his scar. He didn't mind if she was a little curious about it. His eyes looked at her face to read any sign of guilt on her face, he found none to his relief.

"Good thing it wasn't your right hand." Karissa glanced up at him with a small grin as her finger lightly traced the scar in his palm. "I would have really felt bad for damaging your dominant hand."

Her feather light touch was ticklish.

Gray smirked. "Could try to be ambidextrous though."

Karissa put down his hand. "That would be hard."

"That's why there's something called 'practice', stupid."

"Yeah, yeah."

With how she was leaning on the table, she was able to get a good close up of his face.

Mirajane's question echoed in her head.

"Don't you find him attractive?"

She'll answer directly in her head.

Yes. Gray was attractive. She stood by what she told Mirajane, puberty was nice to him. It's not like it wasn't obvious either.

And wait. Now that she thought about it, he had a nice body too. She wasn't exactly crazy about seeing shirtless men (probably from seeing Gray shirtless all the time). However, if she had to pick a preference, she preferred guys who were muscular like Gray and Natsu. Too much muscle just basically turned her off since she was just creeped out by how big they were.

Karissa stretched her arms back. It's not everyday I think about my preferred male body type. Wow.

She didn't have much faith in herself when it came to getting a boyfriend. It didn't help that she was shy which was masked by being cool and distant which made herself unapproachable during most of her teen years. However, there was one person who actually approached her and confessed to her. She knew who he was since she spoke to him a few times but she wasn't exactly close friends with him. He just wanted to get it off their chest and told her they didn't want to pursue a relationship since he wasn't ready for that.

Sure, she was curious about what it would feel like (she would never openly say it) after reading those novels she and Erza read in the library every now and then, but she just never had any luck nor interest. It was probably because she didn't really feel, as Cana would call it, an 'itch' for a boyfriend. The thought just lingered on her mind every now and then, but she would just brush it aside, refusing to think deeper about it.

"Gray! Karissa!"

The two looked towards the street and found Lucy waving at them. She was with Erza, Natsu, Happy, Juvia, Cana, Van, Elfman and Mirajane.

"What?" Gray responded loudly.

"The fireworks are going to go off in a few minutes!" Van hollered. "You guys coming?"

Sitting in an open area on the grass near the water was a great place to sit and enjoy the fireworks since they could all just sit and lie down to look up at the sky that wasn't blocked by any houses, allowing them to fully see the fireworks burst. Every year, they would all gather there to enjoy them for every Fantasia. This year wasn't going to be an exception.

The two didn't need to be told twice as they already on their way to join their friends.

Chapter Text

Karissa shut the door behind her and shut off the lights in her room. With only her memory to guide her, she easily wandered towards her bed and got underneath the covers after settling in.

She was exhausted after the whole Fantasia, she just wanted to sleep.

Karissa nuzzled her face into her pillow.

Earlier, when she came back home, Pandora had given her something. It was a pair of headphones in her favorite colour. It was also a type of model she was looking forward to buying herself. She thought Pandora had bought it for her until she cut off her word of thanks by saying that Laxus was the one who got it for her. She honestly didn't know how to feel when she heard that. Did she want to cry? No. But she remembered feeling so shocked and speechless. She just had a hard time believing that he would give her another.

According to her sister, he was too much of a coward to give to her in person.

Laxus had gotten her a new pair of headphones because hers was old. She didn't think he would notice that it was all cracked up before it broke. The cracks were usually hidden away because they weren't visible when it was placed on her head or around her neck. There was no way he would have known. Why would he go through all the trouble in the first place? Unless he did notice it somehow?

She didn't think she'd find the answer unless she asked him.

However, she sort of found the answer after tinkering around with it. The flat lacrima crystal situated on the outer side were meant to be replaced if they were to break. That meant that it wouldn't have the same problem as her old ones since those ones had lacrima crystals on the inside. She would be able to keep her new pair without worrying too much about the lacrima.

…

…

…

Seated at her desk, Karissa knitted her brows as she carefully took out the lacrima on the right side. They were shaped like coins. Gently, she placed them on her desk and went to do the same for the left. To her surprise, it was much easier to take off compared to the right one. It felt like it wasn't properly placed inside. But when she removed it, a small piece of paper fell out. It was folded.

She blinked and tipped her head. "… the heck?"

She put down the other lacrima and gingerly picked up the small paper that was folded at least three times horizontally.

Her eyes widened.

There were only two words written across the small paper that was the size of a fortune paper from a fortune cookie.

It was his handwriting.

I'm sorry

That's it. That was all it said. And yet, it was enough.

She let go of it and it soundlessly fell on her desk. With a heavy sigh, she dropped her head forward and ran her fingers in her hair messily. This was not what she expecting at all. Her dark brown eyes were shut tightly. What if she found out about it in a distant future when the lacrima needed to be replaced?

Gray helped her finally accept that people just change and bonds don't always last. However, now she realized that it didn't mean that the person stopped caring. It was the same with Lyon. She may not have the same relationship with him, but she still cared about him because of their history.

Laxus cared about her, and he apologized through his gift for causing her to feel small around him.

It wasn't a random gift either. He chose a model that she only spoke of liking several years ago in a colour that she liked.

Karissa laughed a little. Knowing that the two still clearly cared for each other brought a small smile on her lips.

"It's okay."

…

…

…

The next day, she arrived at the guild and talked a little with Cana at some table. Their conversation didn't last very long since the brunette was feeling like absolute garbage from her hangover. She had to go get some water and some pain killers. Karissa didn't know when she would return since she had to go out and buy some pain killers since the guild ran out. That left Karissa on her own listening to her music with her new headphones. It had been a while since she could listen to her music since she didn't have time to buy herself a new pair.

She wore black slip-on shoes, black fitted pants, a t-shirt that was hidden under a black sweater that had sleeves longer than her arms. Her hood was evenly divided in the middle in cyan and red colours.

There was a lot of commotion in the guild for a reason she wasn't aware of. She didn't want to risk getting something wet thrown at her head if a fight occurred so she put on her hood over her head and hummed the rhythm of her music. That is until fingers pinched the back of her hood and took it off her head.

Confused, she looked around and found Gray holding a soda. Juvia was standing behind him.

"Hi." Karissa greeted simply, not paying mind as to why Juvia was with him.

"Those new?" Gray took a seat next to her and set his soda on the table while Juvia sat across from them. He was wearing loose black pants and a white t-shirt that had brown laces in the front.

"Yep." Karissa took it off her head placed it on the table for him to see. Gray curiously took it in his hands and then tested it out himself. They were comfy. He took it off and gave it back to her.

"When'd you get it?"

Karissa lips curved a little. "Someone gave it to me. And no, it wasn't Pandora or Van."

He raised a brow. "These aren't exactly cheap… It's not just a gift you give someone on a whim." He lifted the can to his lips.

"Laxus gave it to me." she answered almost too fast.

Gray stiffened and moved away his drink so he could glance to the side at her. "Seriously? When?"

Karissa resisted the urge to smile, however, Gray could tell she was feeling happy. "Sometime after the Fantasia. Pandora told me he gave it to her because he didn't want to."

He smirked. "Wow, he usually has no problem showing up and doing whatever he wants, but he has restraint when it comes to you? He really is softy for you."

"Is Karissa-san close to Laxus-san?" Juvia spoke out of curiosity, she wanted to know how someone who threaten the lives of his fellow guildmembers was close to someone like Karissa who cared about those lives. So far, the only things she has heard about Laxus was nothing but negative.

The two ice mages looked at her when she did. Gray didn't answer the question, he just tipped his head and thought about how to answer it.

Karissa just shrugged. "We're not as close as we used to be… but," she brushed her thumb against a lacrima with soft eyes. "We still care about each other."

The blue haired mage only blinked curiously. It was a little confusing since she didn't have much of the details.

Gray let out a sound of satisfaction when he stopped drinking, his head turned around to glance at everyone who was all excited. "Anyway, what's up with everyone today? Fantasia's over."

"I dunno." Karissa shrugged.

Juvia smiled at Gray, happy to answer his question. "This morning, the Master spoke of a reporter that was coming today."

Gray seemed indifferent about the news. "Oh yeah?"

"Sorcerer Weeeeekly." Karissa drawled in realization.

"Some people are excited to show off." Gray chuckled and then pointed some guys nearby who were talking loudly about whether or not the reporter was going to be a cute girl.

"IT'S GRAY! IT'S THE REAL GRAY!"

The three of them jerked their heads at the sound of a man yelling in excitement. There was man with blonde hair, with sunglasses resting on his head, dressed in a pink t-shirt that had a camera hanging around his neck, and blue jeans. He quickly pulled out a small notepad as he approached them.

"Speak of the devil." Gray mumbled. "He's already here?"

"Aw man, he looks hella hyper." Karissa reached for her hood and covered her head.

The reporter came to stop in front of them and looked eagerly at the occupants of the table.

"You wouldn't be Juvia, would you?! Cool!"

He brought his attention back to Gray. "So, why do you strip at the drop of a hat?"

Gray shot up from his and slammed bare foot on the table. "I do not!" he snapped. "Stop treating me like some pervert!"

"Gray-sama, your pants!" Juvia shrieked.

"SHIT!"

"Ow!" Karissa glared at Gray and shoved him when his elbow hit her. "Don't freak out and hit me!"

Gray flinched at her voice and sat back down to grab his pants. "My bad…"

"Karissa Sinclost!" The reporter identified with a huge smile. He quickly went around to her side and took a seat next to Juvia so he could sit directly across from her. "It's so cool to meet a Sinclost!"

Karissa sweat dropped at his enthusiasm. Weird guy… too much energy.

"You're known for being quite versatile! You can fight in the air and on the ground from all ranges, like that's super cool!" he fisted his hand and grinned while Karissa stared at him apathetically. "Oh, do you mind if I ask you questions?! I'll ask you in a bit, Gray!"

"Take your time." Gray mumbled, embarrassed for literally being caught with his pants down.

Karissa played with her sleeves. "… Sure."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Mangoes and… noodles?"

"Favorite hobby?"

"Drawing."

"Favorite weather?"

"Something like spring or fall, not too cold and not too hot."

"Favorite colour?"

"Blue."

The reporter suddenly gasped in realization. He looked back and forth between Gray and Karissa before leaning forward a little more. The two ice mages leaned back in response.

"Gray, Karissa, our readers are eager to know! We knew you two were close friends but we recently learned that you two have a long history! How long have you known each other?!"

The two of them paused to think.

Meanwhile, Juvia was gripping the edge of her seat, eager to hear. She heard about their close relationship from Cana. According to her, Gray and Karissa came from the same hometown and have been best friends for years. They've always gotten along with each other and don't ever fight. Needless to say, Juvia felt immensely threaten by Karissa's advantage to the point where she imagined Karissa manipulating her beloved Gray into being her lover with their long friendship. Just thinking about it was a nightmare.

Digging through old Sorcerer Weekly magazines all but fanned the flames of her jealousy.

Gray briefly looked away from the reporter and casually put a hand on his neck. "I'd say… about ten years…?"

"I think it's thirteen." Karissa answered after counting with her fingers.

"That's so cool! A long friendship! Also, the two of you are literally cool, especially when you practice the same magic too!" the reporter grinned excitedly. "You two make such a good pair!"

"I guess..." Gray scratched his cheek with his finger and slid his gaze away while Karissa just stayed quiet and looked at the table. Meanwhile, Juvia was giving off a weird aura that spooked the reporter.

Thankfully, the reporter didn't delve further into the subject of their relationship since he had to go around and ask more questions much to Karissa and Gray's relief. Having to be asked questions and expecting her to answer them out of nowhere kind of threw her off.

…

…

…

But the reporter, whose name she learned was Jason, wasn't done with her. He actually gathered all the Sinclost siblings together and interviewed them together.

"My colleagues are actually eager to get you all photographed for the magazine! Are you interested in doing them?!"

Karissa already had an answer to that. Van and Pandora turned their heads and looked at her since they knew she wasn't the type to have her picture taken like that. They already knew the answer. The ice mage shook her head with her lips pressed tightly. "Sorry… I'm not comfortable doing that."

Van put an arm around her and rubbed her head. "Sorry, man. If she doesn't want to do it then we don't want to force her."

To her surprise, Jason didn't look too disappointed. He just grinned at her. "Well, if you change your mind, let me know! I'd be more than willing to help you guys!"

What a strange guy…

Pandora gave him a polite smile and crossed her legs. "We'll be sure to remember that."

A week had passed since the Harvest Festival. During that time, the guild learned about Laxus' expulsion from the guild. Karissa felt saddened by the news, especially when she learned that Laxus had left Magnolia to go off on his own as freelance mage. However, this punishment was worth his actions against his guildmembers. She couldn't argue with that. She could only hope that he found work despite having no guild to be affiliated with if he chose not to join another.

Pandora did well in masking her emotions when she heard the news. However, the only thing that vaguely hinted her sadness to the news was when she took late night strolls after dinner to simply think back on the past. Van and Karissa knew about her affections for Laxus, so they just let her have some alone time. It was only after learned that she won the Miss Fairy Tail contest that she cheered up somewhat.

During that week, Karissa would go off on her own into a forest and simply train herself her magical abilities. After all, training to get stronger was never a bad thing.

She was presently lying flat on the ground, staring up at the leaves and enjoying the breeze. Her eyes closed and she inhaled deeply.

Her focus of her training was to reinforce her defense through magic. To protect herself, she often used wind magic as a sixth sense to dodge attacks like when Evergreen tried shooting her magic bullets at her from behind. Surely, she could do more with that.

She was experimenting with her wind magic and trying to find a new way to defend herself, and so far, she was slowly inching towards an idea for a new spell.

...

...

...

To help prevent Lucy from living in the streets, the usual gang had to snatch a good paying job for her rent. At first, Karissa didn't mind help out. Working as a waitress at 8-Island? Okay. Sure. No problem. She worked as a waitress before so she was pretty sure she could handle the stress and nervousness.

That was until she saw the uniform. Shoulders and collar bones exposed? Ah, hell nah. She nearly went back home if not for Gray keeping a tight grip on her hood.

Thankfully, the owner had an alternative uniform ready for her. She was allowed to wear a white dress shirt with a collar that was tied with an orange ribbon. She couldn't get rid of the orange skirt but at least her upper body was fully covered. She was alright with the skirt because it was just above her knee which were covered by white thigh socks. She was also wearing this weird frilly headset and a small apron.

Surprisingly, compared to the bar, she felt stupider in a restaurant get up.

…

…

"Can I have a number four?"

"Me too. Oh, and, uh… I'll get this parfait."

"Is that it?" Karissa spoke apathetically with her pen wriggling between her fingers. Her indifferent attitude and cool behaviour just intimidated the customers since it looked like she wasn't in a good mood even though she was just acting normal.

"Y-Yes…"

Without another word, she walked off, ripping the piece of paper off the notepad with a tired sigh.

I feel so stupid in this outfit. I wanna go home!

After she gave the order, she picked up a tray filled with a few water glasses and made her way to the table assigned to it. When she set them all down without looking at the others, she noticed Lucy fuming.

"Don't throw the serving tray!" she heard Happy reprimand while she approached them on her way back.

"Sometimes dressing up like a waiter is pretty nice." Gray spoke while giving out the drinks ordered.

"Try saying that after you put on the outfit!" Lucy practically shouted which prompted Gray to lean closer to her with a look. "Just whose rent do you think we're doing this for?"

"Urk… sorry!"

"I would have preferred if we went hunting or capturing weird people." Karissa sighed when she passed them by.

"I think most of us would." Gray responded. "But this is what we got instead."

With no other new customers coming or orders ready to be served out, Karissa just stood behind the counter and lazily leaned on it after giving the order to the chef. Yes, such a professional posture. She was definitely not cut out for customer service.

Gray and Natsu were coming to the counter after serving the orders. Karissa's eyes slid to Gray's body that had nothing but his underwear on and bow tie. She arched a brow at the sight. To this day, she couldn't understand how he couldn't realize he was taking off his clothes.

"The steak for table eight is done." The owner, Yajima, spoke from inside the kitchen.

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Ooh, I'll give it!" he answered fast before literally running into the kitchen and coming out with a piece of meat in his mouth. Karissa laughed at the sight. "Natsu," she called him in amusement and he stopped to look at her. "You're not supposed to take a nibble out of the food."

"Ah, who cares? They won't notice if I eat a piece!" He shrugged with a grin before going off to table eight.

Gray scoffed. "Pretty sure they will."

The girl just shook her head and watched him go off.

"Soba for table twelve!"

Gray nudged her when he leaned on the counter. "You go."

"What?" Karissa whined.

"Come on, I just got here."

"But I... Ugh, fine."

He smirked and patted her head. "Try smiling a little while you're at it."

Karissa blew out air and shook her head. Nope. She'd just feel twitchy forcing a smile.

With a sigh, Gray just shrugged and watched her go. Karissa definitely didn't smile all the time like Lucy, but when she did, he always found her smiles quite nice. She really should smile more often.

"Gray-kun, can you give this to table nine?"

The ice mage straightened up and resisted the urge to groan. So much for a little break. He was already getting tired of working and they weren't even through with half the hours.

"Well, thanks for all your hard work! But I never thought that kids today would work as hard as you! Come back any time."

Still dressed in the waitress outfit, Erza nodded her head. "Today was a learning experience."

Karissa, Gray and Natsu were sitting on a bench outside the restaurant with the first two slouching against the wall while Natsu threw his hands up with an inflated stomach packed with food.

"I suddenly feel more sympathetic towards Mira-chan." Gray spoke, exhausted. Karissa had her head on his shoulder, ready to sleep from the mental and physical exhaustion. She was really spent.

"Man, what a feast!"

"You ate too much restaurant food!" Lucy scolded the pink haired mage.

"By the way, Yajima-san… What happened with the Council?" Erza asked him, purely curious about the current affairs.

"Well, I've already retired."

Karissa felt Gray stiffen. "The Council?!" Gray and Natsu repeated, absolutely shocked by the revelation.

"Huh?" Lucy looked her shoulder. "Didn't you know? Yajima-san was originally a member of the Council."

Karissa snickered, a little loopy from the exhaustion, and looked at Lucy. "You really think Natsu and Gray would know anything other than the surface of what the Magic Council is?"

Even if she wasn't invested in politics, she at least knew some key figures of the Council.

"I thought at least Gray would." Lucy sighed.

The little old man rubbed his chin. "Zueg… or was it Zellal?"

"Jellal." Erza corrected.

"Right! The betrayal of Zellal and Ultear betrayed us. So, now they intend to make the New Magic Council and are making cuts in every sector. It caused problems for you all too. I am really sorry about that."

Karissa listened to Erza dismiss his apology since she knew he opposed to firing the Etherion the entire time. She recalled that moment when the Etherion was fired and the dread she felt when knowing that Natsu and Erza were still in the tower that Jellal had built. Shortly after that, the Etherion was going to explode and cause a massive explosion in which they were going to be caught in. Fear. Intense fear of death coursed through her body while she held Gray's hand in that moment.

It was close, but they managed to survive.

"I'm simply not fit for politics. As I thought, cooking is much more fun for me!" Yajima said after he whipped out a frying pan out of nowhere. Then he looked towards where Gray, Karissa and Natsu were sitting. "By the way, Natsu-kun, Gray-kun, Karissa-san… From here on out, it's going to be a new Council. I won't be there, so there's nobody to defend Fairy Tail anymore. You're going to have to think, then act."

"We will." Gray and Natsu spoke in unison while Karissa mutter about how she didn't cause as much destruction as those two. But when she thought about it, anything that made people complain about Fairy Tail was an issue.

Karissa stepped off the chair after she finished drawing out the last row. She and Reedus were tasked by Mirajane to help draw out the chart of the Balam Alliance so that everyone could get a current update on the alliance's current status and the dark guilds that are affiliated with the alliance. Karissa knew about the Balam Alliance because she researched them out of pure curiosity when she overheard the name.

She set down the light pen and backed away a few steps to get a good look at the chart for dark guilds.

"Their movements these days seem to be coordinated." Mirajane informed everyone. "So, we'll have to build up bonds between our guilds too."

"What's with that big oval there?" Elfman crossed his arms after pointing at the oval in the middle that only had three names inside of it: Oración Seis, Tartaros and Grimoire Heart.

"Juvia knows. They're the most powerful of the dark guilds. The Balam Alliance is made up of the three most powerful guilds… all of them have a number of dark guilds under their direction, and they control the underworld." The water mage explained and then added that Raven Tail was different than the rest since it acted independently.

"Hey! That's Eisenwald!" Lucy exclaimed after seeing their name.

"So it was under the direction of a guild called Oración Seis?" Gray figured out.

"Ah." Van pointed at a guild that was connected to Oración Seis. "That one. Hell Spider. Me and my sisters took that one out on a job once."

Karissa's gasped. "Oh, yeah. I remember that."

"Those guys were annoying." Pandora pushed her bangs out of her face.

"Ghoul Spirits, the one that the Raijin Tribe destroyed, was also one of them." Elfman spoke.

"When Juvia and Gajeel were in Phantom, we crushed a bunch of dark guilds, all under Oración Seis!"

Lucy shuddered in fear, looking like she was already regretting her actions against Eisenwald. "Ohh… I hope they're not too angry about it."

Wakaba laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "From the rumors I hear, they've only got six members!"

Macao scratched the back of his head. "Damn, how small a guild is it?" he wondered with a laugh.

Mirajane, who caught their conversation, was quick to snap them out of their laidback attitude by telling them that only six members is what made them strong in the first place. All of a sudden, an old gravelly voice spoke at the entrance of the guild. It was their guild master.