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Slain Among Ice and Fire {Fairy Tail}

Chapter 29: Not Quite...

Chapter Text

Chapter 29

Not Quite...

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

.:+:.

"Do your best, all of you... I promise, Yukino and Lector are gonna be okay. We'll get them back."

She nodded to them all, stiffly, curtly even, but firmly all the same- and much to her relief, her voice managed to sound at least mostly confident as she said the words. Confident and steady even despite the way her heart and soul ached, and cold biting fear that kept nipping away at her.

She had to sound sure, she had to stay strong, she couldn't crumble... Too much was at stake to start falling apart, and everyone needed to be focused and as on top of their game as was possible. She couldn't fall apart because if they saw her do so, everything else was just going to be so much harder for them. And things were already hard enough.

So she bit back at the worry and fear in her core, and the ever persistent ache of pain and sadness that would not go away... She forced all thoughts of Gray from her mind and did her absolute best to not let Sting's icy stare hit her as hard as it did... Or at least she did her best not to show how painful it was outwardly.

And she ignored all of that, on top of a sense of exhaustion and overexertion slowly getting all the heavier on her body and mind... And would surely grow to be something unbearable as the events of the day came about. Maybe even to the point she just couldn't-

She bit down on her cheek and tossed the thought away before she could finish it.

"Do your best today, alright?" Hora murmured firmly, her blue eyes flashing as she looked between the group of them standing before her. They nodded to her slightly in turn (those that returned her gaze anyway), from Rufus to Orga, and Frosch and to Rogue- but Sting never looked up. He stood off to the side a bit, his arms crossed over his chest, grim-faced, and utterly quiet.

She felt her heart clench painfully, her eyes locked to the blonde for a few seconds, before she forced herself to look away and put up a small, strained smile.

"Everything's gonna be fine, just give it your all." She hummed softly, and they nodded again, looking as grim as they probably should- and no small amount of worried.

"Please be careful, Horatia." Rufus told her softly,

"Yeah, no joke. You gotta be real careful." Orga grumbled,

Hora nodded slightly, "I'll be careful, I promise." She replied softly, "Though honestly you guys have the harder job for today..." She added quietly, and they sighed.

"... Hora, I hate this plan." Rogue mumbled lowly, his red eyes glittering as she glanced up at him, frowning a bit herself.

He'd actually been conked out near the whole night, which was something of a blessing cause it let Hora get at least a few hours of sleep before he started freaking out and asking questions all over again. He'd woken up early that morning and Hora had quickly explained to him what went on last night with the Fairy Tailers, and what the plan was for the day- while also apologizing more than a dozen times for... well, all of it.

And yes, he hated the plan- because he did not want to let her run off with the Fairy Tailers to stage a jailbreak, not after what happened last night. And no amount of Hora assuring him that she felt fine and that sleep had helped, was going to change his mind on the matter. Because he knew that no matter how much she said otherwise, she was not in good shape and she wasn't feeling good at all... but damn it, she was still so set on running off.

I have to

"... I know... but it's the best one we have." Hora replied, shaking her head a little at him. "Please, I know all of this sucks, but we gotta keep it together, and fight hard. We can do this, we can make sure everything turns out okay, I believe in that... I need you guys to believe in that too." They all exchanged glances between each other, and Hora's hands linked together a bit in front of her, her eyes falling for a moment.

"... I promise, I'm gonna be fine. I'm going to get Yukino back, and Lector will be okay too... everything is going to be okay, I'm sure of it... I'll make sure of it." She murmured softly, her eyes moving back up from the floor and flashing, a bit of steeliness working it's way into her expression and her posture.

"I swear to you, everyone will come back safe."

.:+:.

... Please... I think I deserve a good resolution, after all the crazy shit the last few months, right...? Hell... the last ten years...

... I want this to work... it needs to work.

Please

"... Hora!"

Hora glanced up, her hands moving up off of being on her hips and her body turning around as she spotted the group of Wendy, Natsu, Mirajane, Pantherlily, Carla and Happy. The sun overhead was just barely making its way over the horizon, but few in the whole of Crocus were up and about just yet... With the exception of them, of course.

But they needed to be moving as soon as the GMG started up for today, and they had a few last minute things to get through- so being early was unavoidable... Even if only and hour or two more of sleep would have probably done her some good.

She shook her head at herself once, and only slightly.

... It's fine, Hora... You'll keep up... You have to keep up. And when all of this is over, you can sleep for a week.

'... Likely more than a week, if Over-Drive has it's way.' Lixue added dryly, and she swallowed a bit.

Not now Lixue

"Did you sleep okay?" Wendy asked breathlessly as the little Dragon Slayer stopped in front of Hora.

"You certainly look better than last night." Carla murmured, floating at Wendy's shoulder and quickly giving Hora a look-over. Hora smiled faintly, nodding.

"Yeah, I slept okay." She murmured, "I feel better this morning, please don't worry about me. I'll keep up with all the rest of you just fine." Wendy nodded slightly in understanding, before her eyes dropped down to the long scar running down Hora's right arm- fully visible now, since she had forgone wearing the sleeves she'd had on the night before (and ditched the belt at her waist too).

Of course Wendy had seen some of the scar last night, but never the full thing nor so easily, and for a moment the little Dragon Slayer stiffened, fixed to her spot and staring slightly. She'd seen the one on Hora's nose, and stomach- and known they were from a Neveleous... But what caused such a long and deep scar, like that one...?

She almost asked, but Hora's eyes found Natsu instead as he stopped in front of her with Mirajane at his shoulder. "How are you feeling, Salamander?" Hora asked him softly and he frowned a bit, nodding once and slamming a fist against his open palm.

"I'm ready to kick some Kingdom ass." He grumbled, and Hora smiled faintly at the answer.

"Well hopefully we can get in and out without too much trouble. This is more geared to be a stealth mission, ya know." She mumbled, and he huffed, though everyone else smiled at the comment, and Natsu's none too pleased face.

"Whatever, I'm still gonna kick somebody's ass." He grumbled in reply, before pausing, looking around a bit. "Where's that Council guy you're having us meet up with?" He asked next, changing subject slightly.

"He should be here pretty soon." Hora murmured, glancing away from the Fairy Tailers and upward above the buildings on either side of the alley they stood in. Mercurius' high towers and walls could be seen above them, even with that alley only being one or two streets over from the boundaries of the castle itself.

Hora's Birds had scoped this spot out the night before, it was close to the side of the Castle's grounds where the Prison was, but in a secluded and out of sight place so they could all meet up without tipping off the guards. She'd pointed out where this spot was for the Fairy Tailers and Ira both on a map, and though she'd not had anything but written word from the Council boy, he'd said he was coming and willing to help do a little jail-breaking.

(Just so long as Lahar and DoranBolt never found out about it, mind you.)

Hora's nose twitched, her eyes falling from the sky.

Ah, speaking of-

"H-Horatia...!" Ira's call came from up the alley a bit, breathless sort of and hushed. He was moving up the alley quickly, dressed in full Council garb and green eyes glittering as she matched gazes with him for a few seconds, before his attention darted quickly among the Fairies circling her.

"Ira." Hora hummed softly as he came to a halt in front of her, pausing a bit to catch his breath. "Thank you for coming to help with all of this, I really appreciate it... I know you could get in trouble if you get caught." Hora murmured softly, and Ira shook his head a bit.

"N-No, I'm happy to lend a hand...!" He replied quickly, "Everything you sent in your letter sounds really bad, and I can't believe the King's men are doing any of this at all...! Your friends don't deserve to be locked up for something they haven't done... if I can help you out even a little, I'm glad to..!" He explained, before smiling nervously. "And I don't think Captain Lahar or DoranBolt will find out, the King's Army and the Magic Council don't really communicate between each other very much... plus I'm pretty sure I managed to leave without DoranBolt even noticing I'd gone. He probably won't even know I went anywhere by the time I get back." He added lightly, and Hora offered up a faint smile.

"Alright, but if he gives you a hard time you can send him to me so I can tell him to stuff it." She hummed and Ira smiled more, chuckling.

"You two are an old married couple." He quipped and Hora huffed, but smiled anyway.

"Definitely not...!" She shot back lightly, and all he did was smile at the reply. Hora shook her head a bit and glanced back toward the Fairy Tailers, who were listening to the little conversation with curious eyes. "Ah, anyway... this is Ira." Hora mumbled, introducing the young boy to the Fairy Tailers. "... and this is Wendy, Natsu, Mirajane, Carla, PantherLily and Happy." Hora kept on, pointing each Fairy Tailer out toward Ira, and they all nodded as their names were said.

"Ah, hello." Wendy smiled shyly, and Ira nodded back a bit, his green eyes glittering.

"It's nice to meet you all." Ira murmured softly, "I know Fairy Tail and the Magic Council have a bit of a rocky relationship, but I'm gonna do my best to make sure this infiltration mission goes smoothly." Ira promised, dipping his head slightly toward the Fairies and earning soft smiles from them all.

"I take it that means you have a plan?" Hora asked Ira, and he nodded at her.

"Yes, I think what Miss Mirajane suggested will work the best- to impersonate Authorities and pretend that some of you have been captured and are being incarcerated." Ira replied, nodding toward the white-haired woman as he caught her eyes. "Though in this case, it would be better if you could use your Transformation Magic to mimic a Rune Knight, instead of a Castle Guard. That way I can lead you directly to the Prison instead of relying on finding it yourself. I've been there before and there'll be little chance of you all getting lost, or tipping the Guards off prematurely. Will that be okay for you?" He explained, and Mirajane nodded in affirmation.

"Of course." She hummed and Ira nodded,

"Alright, I also brought a few things, a uniform for you to put on, and some Nullification Handcuffs to make it all a bit more believable that you guys are prisoners." He added, glancing toward Natsu, Hora and Wendy as he said it. "And you three should be able to hide in the robes I brought for Miss Mirajane. It's a size or two larger than normal, so you'll have plenty of room." He finished, glancing toward the Exceeds.

"Ain't the Guards gonna think it's weird a couple of Rune Knights are using the Castle Prison?" Natsu mumbled, "Ain't the Council got it's own Prisons they can thrown people in?"

"We do, but there's a special ordinance that allows the Magic Council to requisition any Prison to hold persons we have arrested if needed. Mostly if our own Prisons are at capacity, or we need to keep fugitives in a secure area until proper transport can arrive, or while awaiting orders... either way, they really shouldn't question it too much." Ira explained, "As long as we act like we should be there, and not be nervous or anything that might give us away, the Guards won't think it weird at all. Especially if we all look the part." Ira smiled, and Hora hummed a bit under her breath, while Nastsu nodded.

"I knew it would be a good idea to ask for your help." Hora told Ira lightly, and he blushed a bit at the compliment. "Once we get inside the Prison, are we gonna have to keep playing the part or no?" She asked, and Ira blinked.

"No, once we get inside you should be able to move rather freely." Ira answered, "The Castle Prison is seldom ever actually used, so they don't have a regular posting of Guards or patrols on the inside. It's a pretty big place, but it'll be really empty. You'll probably just have to search a bit to find your friends." Hora nodded in understanding.

"Alright, once you get us in we can take care of the rest." Hora told him, and he tilted his head. "You can't very well walk out with more prisoners than you went in with, so we'll have to split up and find our way out on our own." She murmured and he paused.

"... I guess that makes sense." He relented after a moment. "But how do you plan to get back out unnoticed? You can't storm out the front door, not if you wanna keep under the radar." He asked, and Hora smiled slightly.

"We'll figure it out when we get there." She replied with ease, and he looked none too assured by the answer.

"... that's a terrible plan." He mumbled,

"Maybe, but between the seven of us we should be fine." Hora hummed, "Nine, once we get Lucy and Yukino out. We're tough, we'll be fine."

"... alright..." Ira relented slowly, his hand raising as a Magic Circle appeared in air beside him and he reached his hand into it. "The Grand Magic Games are going to start soon, we should get moving." He announced, pulling a set of Knight's Robes out of the Magic Circle, followed by three pairs of Nullification Handcuffs and the same number in chains. He handed the robes off to Mirajane and smiled nervously as she turned to Hora, Natsu and Wendy alike.

"Wait, you were serious about chaining us up?" Natsu mumbled quickly and Ira nodded.

"Yes, it needs to look convincing." He mumbled, "I'll take them off as soon as we're inside the Prison and out of sight of the Guards..."

"... But we won't be able to use any Magic with these on, right?" Wendy asked softly, and Ira wilted a bit, smiling nervously.

"No, in the meantime you won't, sorry... There's no way to make them not work, so your Magic will be Nullified as long as you have them on..." Ira explained softly,

"Not happening." Natsu huffed rather stubbornly, and Hora sighed.

"... I get it Salamander, and I don't much like it either- but you are gonna have to suck it up." Hora told him calmly, and he shot her a disgruntled look. "It won't be for too long, and the less you argue, the faster we can move and get in, and then get them off again." She added, and he frowned, grumbling a bit under his breath before looking away again, his teeth gritting.

"Tch... Fine." He muttered, uncrossing his arms and holding his hands out toward Ira, who jumped a bit, before quickly locking the cuffs around the Dragon Slayer's wrists. He muttered small apologies as he did so, and continued that as he fastened the cuffs around Wendy's wrists too, and then attached a length of chains to both of them that kept Natsu and Wendy tethered together. He handed that end of the chains off to Mirajane, who was dressed now in the Knight's Robes she had been given with the Exceeds pressed against the inside of the uniform.

Ira turned to Hora next, and she held her hands out for him, smiling faintly as he hesitated for a small second, his eyes landing on the red ribbon tied around her right wrist- the one he'd given her back in North Wind, and subsequently couldn't be destroyed (via a very useful Preservation Spell of his own making), and had at one point been used to keep tabs on her whereabouts.

"... Y.. You're still wearing that..?" Ira asked quickly, glancing up. "You know I Dispelled the Tracking Spell, right...? You can take it off..." He mumbled uncertainly, and Hora chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, I'm not that dumb." She laughed lightly, "But why would I take it off? Thanks to you I have an indestructible hair tie, it comes in handy." He blinked a few times, before smiling faintly.

"Ah... I guess that makes sense..." He hummed, moving the handcuffs closer again and locking them around her wrists. He hooked a second line of chains to the cuffs, holding on to them himself this time around.

Hora felt her Magic dull down to near nothing the minute they locked, and sighed internally at the less than pleasant sensation. It wouldn't be for too long, she reminded herself... But hell, getting chained up like that was a very unpleasant feeling. She'd been chained and trapped far too much for one lifetime after all.

"Goooooooooooood Morning Crocus!"

Everyone glanced up as the GMG Announcer's voice rose up from the head of the valley and rang over the whole of Crocus. Hora bit the inside of her cheek, her blue eyes flashing as the image of the SaberTooth team and everyone else in the Guild came to the forefront of her mind... Lector especially, and Rogue and Frosch's fear... Sting's rage.

She swallowed back at the ache of pain that rose anew in her chest.

"... The Grand Magic Games are starting..." Wendy mumbled softly,

"Time to go." Hora murmured, her eyes trailing sideways toward Ira. He nodded stiffly,

"Right." He replied lowly, his green eyes flicking toward Mirajane. "Just follow my lead and we'll be fine." He told her, and Mira nodded in return.

"Got it."

.:+:.

"... Uh... Wha...?" The Castle Guardsmen mumbled, startled from his mundane watch duty by the two figures dressed in Rune Knight Robes and tugging three others behind them on the end of chains. The Castle Grounds inside the walls were utterly quiet and mostly undisturbed, so any movement at all was few and far between- let alone and entire group marching straight up to the Prison doors... And certainly not a group being lead by someone who looked no older than 14 or 15.

Ira walked straight up toward him, Hora following along behind him and grumbling a bit under her breath at being tugged by the chain- she could tell Natsu was seething about it too, though she didn't glance back at him, or Wendy, or 'Guard' Mira with the Exceeds in her robes. The Guards standing outside the Prison door shifted as they saw them coming, immediately wary and eyeing all of them suspiciously, but Ira gave no indication of being bothered by the stares.

He drew up in front of one of the Guards with the calm countenance of someone on a mission, his green eyes locking with the older men steadily and one hand on his hip while the other held still to the chains hooked to Hora.

"... Who the hell are you supposed to be...?" One Guard muttered as he shot Ira a look, before he stiffened upon looking at Wendy and Natsu in particular- Ira did not let the man's attention wander too long, however.

"I am Lieutenant Ira Ceine of the Rune Knight's Magical Enforcement Division. Under Ordinance 47 of Council-Royal Military Pact, I am requisitioning a holding cell on these premises to hold these three Mages in captivity. Until time we can prepare proper transportation of them to Era." Ira told him evenly, addressing both Guards at once and straight to the point, his voice so utterly steady and full of command. Hora blinked,

... Holy crap, Ira's actually the kind of person that can actually lie their ass off, isn't he? I did not expect that from him...

"These three are being held in custody under suspicion of being involved in the destruction wrought upon the western part of the city last night, and will be awaiting here until their incarceration at Era- as part of the ongoing investigation to what occurred last night." Ira kept on, still so very sure of himself and the story he was stringing in seconds time- he made it look effortless!

Hora grimaced internally though at mention of last night's 'incident'... Cause yeah, that was actually me. So Ira's story is less a story than the truth- not that he knows that.

And the Guards were totally believing every word Ira said, there wasn't a shred of uncertainty in either of them or hint of suspicion of the tale. They'd even straightened up, and were nearly standing at attention for the young boy that was nearly three heads their shorter.

Hora smirked inwardly, suddenly quite pleased with herself for actually brought Ira in on this. He was making this so easy.

I love this kid

"R-right, understood!" The Guards told Ira (or rather, Lieutenant Ceine) in unison, "It would be the Royal Military's pleasure to help secure these Mages on behalf of the Magic Council..!" Ira nodded curtly to the men,

"The cooperation is appreciated." Ira hummed, his hand lifting off his hip and gesturing toward 'Guard' Mirajane. "My Officer will remain stationed here to oversee the Prisoners for the duration of their stay, I have to return to the scene to continue collecting evidence." Ira explained, and again the Guards nodded quickly, drinking it all in.

"Of course." The first one murmured, shifting as he opened the door to the Prison and held it open for them. "Take any empty cell. I'll inform the next rotation of the situation."

"Thank you." Ira murmured evenly, casting a glance back at Hora and tugging on the cuffs a bit harshly in signal for her to start walking. She grit her teeth, casting Ira a glare as he turned his back- both for show and a little annoyed with it, but she knew he was just making it all look believable. So, on that note she also made sure to turn a cold and icy glare on both the Guardsman as she passed them by, and they both gulped at the look.

'Guard' Mirajane tugged Natsu and Wendy along behind her as (s)he followed Ira and Hora through the open door and into the Prison. A fleeting glance over her shoulder saw Wendy looking at the ground in slight agitation, and Natsu looking as miffed as one might expect a caught 'criminal' to seem.

Hora suppressed the smirk that nearly broke through at the two Dragon Slayers playing the part too.

The doors shut behind them and they walked through the silent hallways leading further into the prison in sheer quiet. Once they had gotten far enough to be out of sight and earshot of any Guards, they paused in a side hallway and Ira turned to them, while Mirajane De-Transformed, her Robes opening as the Exceeds spilled out, a little breathless.

"Ira, you are awesome." Hora smirked, catching the young boy off guard as he moved to release the cuffs from around her wrists. He blushed at the comment, blinking a few times in question. "Seriously, this could not have gone smoother."

"You are a big help..!" Wendy chirped kindly, and Mirajane, PantherLily and Carla nodded in agreement.

"Yeah man, you totally rocked the whole Rune Knight thing!" Natsu smirked, Mirajane working to unlock the cuffs from around the Fire Dragon Slayer's hands.

"Aye sir!" Happy mewed,

Ira blinked, "... Uhm... You know I am actually a Rune Knight, right...?" He asked slowly and Natsu grinned,

"Yeah I know, but you played bein' a high-up Lieutenant real well!" Natsu replied brightly, and Ira's expression fell utterly blank, the cuffs on Hora's wrists clicking open, and she pulled away, while Ira kept staring at Natsu.

"... I am actually a Lieutenant." Ira mumbled, not sure if he should be offended or not- and that bit of words had most everyone looking surprised.

"Huh..?! Really?!" Natsu and Happy asked in near unison,

"You are?" Hora asked too, and Ira's head snapped in her direction, looking mortified.

"What do you mean..?! You've known me for almost two weeks, Hora...!" Ira told her quickly, "How can you not know that..?!" Hora blinked, a hand rubbing the back of her neck a bit nervously.

"... I dunno, I'm sorry? Its just you never actually told me your Rank or anything, and you were taking orders from Lahar and DoranBolt pretty regularly, so I just sort of figured you were an Officer..." Hora mumbled, and Ira looked quite exasperated, and sighed loudly.

"... Of course I was taking orders from them, DoranBolt is First Lieutenant to Knight-Captain Lahar, and I am the Knight-Captain's Second Lieutenant. So they are both technically my superiors- sort of in DoranBolt's case- and I listen to them... but I am a Lieutenant...!" Ira grumbled, Hora hummed a bit under her breath.

"Ah," she mumbled simply, "I guess that makes sense for the way you and DoranBolt act around each other, actually." She mused, Ira frowned slightly.

"You have no room to comment on my behavior around DoranBolt." Ira told her flatly, and Hora grimaced a bit at it, but kept her mouth shut this time around.

"... Right." She mumbled after a moment, forcing a small sigh. "... Anyway, sorry I didn't realize... But I'm not that surprised. You are a totally clever dude, and your Magic is no joke. Lieutenant is a good fit for you." She added lightly, smiling a bit and he flushed at the words. "And thank you again for doing this, we really appreciate it." She hummed,

"Yes, thank you." Carla smiled slightly, and Wendy nodded.

"You've given us a great start to this mission." PantherLily told him,

"Yeah, you're totally cool for a Council dude." Natsu chuckled,

"Aye!"

"Helping us was really nice of you." Mirajane hummed sweetly, and Ira flushed further at all the comments, nodding a bit shyly.

"O-of course, I'm happy to have helped." He replied, his eyes dropping for a moment before slowly trailing back up to Hora, who was still smiling.

"Remind me to take you out for dinner or something when all of this is over." She told him, "I definitely owe you." He nodded a bit more, and Hora paused, her voice dropping a bit. "... Ah, are you actually doing cleanup and stuff for that 'incident' last night?" She asked and Ira blinked at the unexpected question.

"Hmm? The destruction in the west part of the city...?" He echoed slowly, "Oh, uhm yeah... I've been assigned to try and figure out who is responsible..." He told her, and Hora smiled nervously.

"... Right, so I'll owe you a few more then, 'cause I'm actually the one who tore everything up..." She mumbled, and his eyes went wide.

"H-huh..?! You...?!" He stammered, and she nodded.

"Yeah, it's really complicated and I don't have time to explain it all right now... I'll pay for the damage and stuff after all of this, but I figured I'd let you know so you aren't running around in circles about it..." Hora sighed, and Ira blinked, looking like he wanted to press it further- but thankfully he didn't.

"Alright." He relented softly, "All of you guys be careful, okay? And I hope you get Miss Lucy and Yukino back safe." He told them, his eyes scanning Hora and the Fairies.

"Yep." Natsu smirked,

"We will." Wendy murmured,

"Mhm." Hora hummed.

Ira took the robes and cuffs back from Mirajane, stuffing it all away in his Requip again. He cast the group of Wizards a final look over his shoulder as he headed back the way they had come, before rounding the corner and disappearing from sight.

"Alright, now it's time to find Yukino and Luce!" Natsu grumbled, cracking his knuckles and very quickly losing his smile to be replaced by something much more determined and serious. And the shift in demeanor was quickly mirrored by everyone else, Hora especially.

"Right, but we'll still need to be careful for any Guards." Carla reminded lowly.

"And be quiet too." Wendy added,

"If we are able to stay undetected this whole time, that would be preferable." PantherLily agreed,

"Right! So, which way do we go?" Happy mewed, "This place seems huge, and they could be anywhere..."

"That's easy Buddy." Natsu told him, "We just gotta follow our noses, and we'll find them in no time!" Wendy and Hora nodded in affirmation.

"Then let's start." Mirajane murmured, and they all nodded, starting off down the hallway with Natsu taking the lead.

"Between Natsu and Wendy's sense of smell, we should be able to find them easily enough." Carla commented, floating at Wendy's side.

"Horatia's sense of smell is also heightened yes?" PantherLily commented, earning a side glance from the Saber woman and a small nod from her. "Right, so between the three of them there's little doubt we won't find Lucy and Yukino."

"Aye sir!" Happy grinned, flying alongside Mirajane. "I wonder whose nose is better though?" He asked aloud, musing almost.

"Definitely mine." Natsu grinned,

"I dunno Natsu, Hora found Carla and Wendy didn't she? You used your nose for that, yeah?" Happy hummed, his eyes trailing sideways toward Hora and she blinked.

"... Well yes, but I wouldn't say that proves anything-" she started,

"I got the better nose!" Natsu huffed, cutting her off. "Hora's ears are better than mine, but my nose tops hers." He smirked, Hora blinked.

"... I guess I can agree with that." She mumbled, "... Not that I was looking to stack up our skills or anything, mind you." She smiled in slight exasperation.

'... Technically all of your senses are be more heightened than his, however. Being both a Devil Slayer and the effects of my LifeForce being inside your body combined.' Lixue popped back in with his own piece to be said, and Hora sighed. 'So your nose is the better one... Not that you rely on it enough to accurately prove that point.'

Be quiet...

They headed deeper into the prison, moving downward and further into the earth and the underground portions of the facility, all the while keeping their ears and noses perked for any guards, and keeping a lock on the familiar scents of Lucy and Yukino.

Hora bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes narrowing to slits and glancing to either side cautiously as they kept up their steady pace through the halls.

... I know Ira said there was gonna be little guards walking around in here, but this is way too quiet... I mean the higher ups have gotta be worried about Fairy Tail throwing a fit about Lucy getting snatched, right? Shouldn't they at least have upped security in here?

Hora grimaced slightly, her shoulders tensing a bit more than they already were.

... This doesn't feel right... It's too easy.

'I agree.' Lixue grumbled lowly, and Hora grimaced a bit more, her eyes still trailing around the space and on high alert for anything that might spell what she was afraid this would turn out to be- a trap.

But there were no Magical secrets or Illusions as far as she could see so far, and little chance she was simply missing them now that she was actively looking... So maybe it wasn't a Magical Trap, but that didn't mean it wasn't a trap at all.

"... Oi, Salamander." Hora mumbled, earning the pinkette's eyes from where he was ahead of her. "I hate to say it, but this is starting to feel a lot like back in Jeihel." She grumbled, and he nodded stiffly.

"Yeah I feel it too." He muttered, looking back ahead. "We can't stop though, we'll just have to keep an eye out. And if anything does get thrown our way, we can handle it- just like back then." He murmured, smirking slightly at the end and Hora sighed quietly at the small show of bravado... Because it was very much like him to be at ease about any possible mishaps, and be confident they could handle it.

"... Yeah." She mumbled, though honestly she wished she had the same confidence it'd be fine.

There's just too much going on... And that dread still hasn't gone away... And that thing that took me last night...?

She shivered involuntarily at the mere memory of it and quickly shoved the thoughts away.

... I have a feeling that today is gonna be a bad day, just like yesterday... Shit.

.:+:.

"Psst... Hey, Luce...!"

Lucy's head snapped up off the bed in surprise, eyes wide and glittering in the dim of the cell and the prison around her and Yukino sitting against the back wall. The unending and heavy silence of their confinement shattered with sound of that hushed voice, and Lucy and Yukino both felt their hearts leap in their chests at the sound of it- and who they recognized it belonged to.

A breathless smile crossed Lucy's face as she pushed herself up onto her knees, her eyes shinning as she matched gazes with Natsu crouched on the balls of his feet on the other side of the bars, a toothy grin on his face as she looked up. Yukino's eyes glittered in the dim, her expression pulling in surprise and shock as she caught sight of the pinkette, and the others beside him from the other side of the cell bars.

"... No way..." Yukino whispered under her breath.

"Natsu!" Lucy beamed, her smile growing wider as her eyes darted around to Mirajane on Natsu's left and Wendy on his right, while the Exceeds stood by and raised their paws in greeting. "Everyone, you're here...!" She hummed brightly, her voice echoing slightly off the stone. She was about to say more, only to get cut off when Natsu pressed a finger to his lips and shushed her.

"Ssshhh, Luce!" He told her quickly and quietly, "We don't wanna catch anyone's attention before we get out, kay?" Lucy nodded, smiling softly.

"Yes, I'm sorry I got excited..." She murmured softly, "It's so good to see you all, I knew you wouldn't leave us here..!"

"Of course not!" Natsu smirked, "Let's get you two out of here, yeah? Back up a bit from the bars for a minute Luce." Natsu hummed, his hands closing around the metal bars of the cell as Lucy backed away from them and Yukino climbed to her feet, approaching enough to be a bit behind the blonde. Steam rose up from his hands as the dark metal of the bars began to bleed a bright, white-hot, bending and melting underneath him as he pulled them apart with a small grunt of effort and created a gap large enough to allow the two Celestial Mages to step out. Lucy stepped quickly through the opening once it cooled off enough, beaming still and throwing her hands up to catch Natsu in a hug. She held to him for a few seconds before giving Mirajane and Wendy similar greeting, still grinning from ear to ear and looking so very relieved.

"We brought you a change of clothes." Mirajane hummed pleasantly as Lucy let her go, "We also brought some for you too, Yukino." She white-haired woman murmured lightly, her eyes moving toward Yukino as the girl slowly stepped out of the gap, tentatively accepting Natsu's hand as he helped her out.

"Thank you..!" Lucy hummed, though Yukino looked a little stunned with the offer, blushing slightly.

"... o-oh, thank you... but it's not necessary...." Yukino murmured softly, her eyes dropping a bit as she took her hand back from Natsu's and stood stiff in her spot for a few seconds.

"Oi, any sign of guards or anythin'?" Natsu asked, his attention skipping passed Yukino at his shoulder and a bit further up the corridor from where they were huddled together, his hands on his hips. Yukino blinked at him, her eyes quickly tracing where his eyeline seemed to lead and going stiff as a board when she reached the end of it.

"No, nothing for now... though this still feels way too easy." Hora grumbled lowly, shifting from glancing around the corner she was standing at and backing up a few steps in the direction of where everyone else was. She bit the inside of her cheek, on high alert and absolutely hating the silence of the whole of the prison and the lack of literally anybody else- she'd hung back a little as they got closer to where Yukino and Lucy were, opting to take up a bit of a lookout position just in case they got jumped while they were busy collecting the girls. But there was nothing amiss, no new scents or sounds, and no sign of anyone looking to stop them staging the jailbreak... it really couldn't be this easy, could it? Somebody had to be watching right?

She couldn't pick up on anything though, not that it made her feel any better.

She turned slowly, her eyes leaving the hallway they had left behind and still moving toward the others. And for that moment, letting her attention divert to what she really wanted to focus on- or rather who.

"Are you guys okay?" Hora asked quickly, her dark blue eyes scanning the figures ahead of her for that familiar pale hair, only to draw up short a few feet away from the group when someone suddenly jumped toward her, arms extended and breathless. Hora had no time at all to react, and she felt herself stumbling backward as their bodies connected and she got knocked backward onto her ass, the breath driven from her for a moment and only barely managing not to get knocked flat on her back. Hora winced, a newfound ache igniting through her (very) battered body, her hands hovering slightly and not sure what to do with them for a few seconds as she bit back at the pain.

... I really need people to stop ramming into me for a hug... tch...

".. Hora..!" Yukino's breathless voice reached her ear, the Celestial Mage hugging to her tightly. "I can't believe you're here...! I am so happy to see you...! I-I've been worried...!"

Hora swallowed a bit, her hands winding around Yukino gently to return the hug and her eyes flashing at the words.

"... I'm sorry..." Hora mumbled, "I didn't mean to worry you... but of course I came, I wouldn't leave you here, not on anything. You're still SaberTooth, regardless of what Jiemma or Minerva may say, and you're still family." Hora mumbled lowly, her hold on Yukino tightening a little. "... speaking of worrying, I've been pretty worried about you too, ya know..." She added lowly, and Yukino stiffened.

"... I... I apologize..." She whispered, Hora shook her head a bit.

"No, I get it... you don't have to explain why you got caught up in this Eclipse thing, I understand." Hora told her softly, "We're gonna sort all of this out, I promise. You and Lucy are gonna be fine, everyone is gonna be fine, it'll all work out... and by the end of this, I'm gonna bring you back to the Guild safe and sound, and you can stay. I swear."

".. b..but Hora... I got exiled, the Master..." Yukino started shakily, and Hora shook her head, pulling back from Yukino so their eyes could meet and her expression serious.

"Jiemma has no say in what goes on in SaberTooth anymore. And Minerva won't for much longer either." Hora grumbled, and Yukino's eyes widened, confusion and question washing over her face. "A lot of stuff has happened since I last talked with you, and I will explain it all... but for right now we should probably focus on getting out of here, okay?" Hora murmured, giving Yukino a half apologetic look as the girl paused, before slowly nodding.

"Yeah... alright." She agreed, and Hora smiled, shifting to her feet and helping Yukino up. They moved the few feet they needed to join up with the rest of the group, and Lucy broke away from Mirajane's shoulder to catch Hora up in a hug too- though this time she saw it coming and managed not to get smashed into too hard.

"Hora, it's so good to see you..!" Lucy hummed, and Hora nodded a bit.

"Good to see you too Lucy... I'm sorry we haven't been able to talk face to face..." Hora mumbled softly, and Lucy pulled back, shaking her head.

"No I understand, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble..!" Lucy told her quickly, "Yukino told me about what happened to you a few months ago, and how terrible SaberTooth's Master is..." Lucy explained softly, and Hora grimaced a bit, seeing several other people frown at mention of it too. "I can't wrap my head around how someone could be so cruel, but I understand why you've had to be so cautious... I'm just really relieved to see you here now, but aren't you gonna be in worse trouble if your Master finds out you came..?"

"... no, it's not that simple." Hora murmured, "Like I told Yukino, a lot has happened the last few days, and just last night especially... I will explain everything to you both later, but right now we should get moving." Hora explained, and Lucy nodded a bit, though she clearly had more she wanted to ask- but also had the better sense to know Hora had a point. They could spend all the time they wanted talking when they were all safely out of this prison.

"Right, I'd like us to be able to leave the castle undetected if at all possible." PantherLily murmured,

"We can't go just yet." Lucy told him quickly though, "They still have my Keys, I can't leave without them."

"Mine are gone as well." Yukino inputted softly, "Mr. Darton confiscated them from us, he'll likely still have them." She explained, and Hora bit the inside of her cheek.

"That's the Minister of Defense guy right?" Hora grumbled, and Yukino nodded in affirmation. Hora grimaced a bit, "Well that's gonna make things more complicated, there's no way he isn't surrounded by guards..." She sighed,

"You're probably right, but it don't matter." Natsu replied, "We'll get your keys back, promise." Natsu grumbled, nodding his head toward Lucy and Yukino both.

"... I guess it might be a good idea to send Drille out to look for him, then. Give us some clue of where to head and what we'll be dealing with." Hora murmured, her hand raising as a Magic Circle appeared in air beside her- intent on pulling the paper she had tucked away inside, but she halted before her hand ever reached the Circle.

She felt something click under her feet, faint and hardly there really- it could have easily been someone's feet tapping against the floor, but she didn't think it was... What the..?

Her eyes trailed downward and to the floor in confusion, only for her jaw to snap shut and her heart to leap into her throat when the floor suddenly dropped out from underneath them.

"W-what the hell...?!"

"The floor...?!"

"Shit...!"

Hora hissed, her attention on her Requip lost as she felt the bottom of her feet meet empty air, her arms sweeping down below her and mind whirling as she quickly tried to come up with some way to stop them plummeting into the hole. A floor, a basin, anything to catch them- and fire wouldn't do.

Her eyes flashed icy blue, sheer white clouding the air around her arms and hands in the few seconds they began to fall.

She meant to make a platform for them to land on, but the minute she pushed for the Magic to come, all she ended up with was a bit of chilly frost that quickly evaporated, and pain.

Searing agony sprung up and rushed through her from the center of her chest, and her eyes and jaw snapped shut against it, cringing and all plan or thought of trying to save them wiped away in an instant. She hissed, wincing harshly under her breath and she heard Lixue let out a pained grunt that rung through her mind and thoughts.

And they were all falling, the Fairy Tailers shouts of surprise and Yukino's too lost on her ears. They quickly fell a few feet, and the opening that had sent them falling slammed shut over their heads, and they were plunged into sheer darkness and unable to see the bottom.

It didn't last very long though, and honestly Hora was too wrapped up waiting for the pain to fade again to really notice at all. Greenish light flooded up from below them as they all fell passed the edge of the tunnel they had been falling through, and quickly approached a rocky floor coming on fast. Lucy was wriggling in air, trying to grab out toward Happy and save herself hitting the floor, but she had little time and she ended up slamming to a halt on top of Natsu- who had hit the floor first and hadn't been able to try and land it. Carla saved Wendy from hitting the floor and Happy took Yukino, while PantherLily caught Mirajane, setting the three girls down gently and Hora was left to fend for herself... Which was fine, she could have landed easily enough, if it hadn't felt like her chest was on fire.

She landed awkwardly, pushing passed the pain for just a few moments to at least allow herself not to smack against the floor. She did stumble quite a bit though, and almost lost her footing while she was at it, before struggling to a half-halt and bent over a bit. One hand fell on her knee to prop herself up with while the other gripped at the shirt over her chest, her eyes shut tight and hardly daring to breathe for a few seconds. The pain hadn't faded away even in those few moments of falling, and seemed slow to even start to do so.

... Tch... W..what the hell...?! Why didn't... That work...?! Why did that fucking hurt so much, Lixue...?!

'... Tch... You need to pace yourself... That large of a Spell is too much to start off with...' Lixue grumbled, '... Advance warning of you trying to use my power would also help... Lest you catch me off guard like that again, and you actually end up in worse trouble than this...'

Hora grit her teeth, her fingers digging into her knee and shirt both. She wanted to snap at him and tell him she shouldn't have to watch herself- but she she knew better... And that he was right, though that was agitating.

... Tch... Sorry... I wasn't thinking how large that Spell was gonna be... I'll try to warn you of anything big I try to do beforehand...

'... That would be best...'

Hora shook her head, grumbling a bit as she slowly let the breath she was holding out, and she pain began to turn into a dull throb.

Pace myself huh...?

... I've never been very good at that... Especially not when my life consists of just making colossal, snap decisions in the heat of the moment... Ugh

... But fine... Start small... Work my way up... It can't be that hard, can it?

'We shall see...' Lixue commented dryly, Hora's eye twitched at it.

"Oi... Can you get off me, Luce...?" Natsu moaned,

"Where are we...?" Wendy murmured, glancing around the dim confines of what seemed a cavern all around them.

"The hole we fell through shut itself..!" Happy mewed, glancing hastily toward where they had appeared from and seeing nothing but solid stone overhead.

"... Hora, are you alright...?"

Yukino's soft and slightly concerned voice caught Hora's attention, her eyes opening to glance left toward the Celestial Mage and straightening a bit. Yukino's eyes moved up and down Hora's figure, glittering in question as she slowly moved up toward Hora's shoulder, her head tilting. "You look... like you're in pain...? Is something wrong..?" She asked softly, reaching a hand toward Hora, though drew up short as Hora gave her a small, tired smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Hora replied quietly, "I was trying to put up something that would save us falling, but it didn't work out... my Magic is a little finicky at the moment is all." Hora explained softly, and Yukino's head tilted further. "... like I said, a lot has happened the last few days..."

"Where in the hell are we?" Natsu grumbled hotly, finally pulling himself to his feet as Mirajane gave Lucy a hand up off of him. His eyes darted around the cavern and the several massive, peculiar structures of human figures carrying what seemed to be the weight of the roof all around.

"Welcome to the Palace of Perdition."

Hora stiffened, her head and body snapping up straight as the strange voice echoed over the cavern and bounced off the walls. Everyone snapped to attention around her, eyes darting about the space to try and find the source- until a large Projection Screen suddenly came to life above them and the figure of a young woman with green hair appeared on it's face.

"You fell right into my trap." The woman murmured lowly, "Look around you, this is the Palace of Perdition- a place a death."

Hora grimaced, her eyes casting sideways from the screen and toward the cavern again- her eyes adjusting to the dim all the way now and catching sight of what the woman meant... and the scent of death reached her nose, sharp and heavy on the air. Courtesy of what large array of skeletons and bones were littered all around- hundreds, she would have to guess.

... well shit...

"This place is the final taste of freedom for criminals. Not a single person has ever escaped from it." The woman went on, her gaze hard and icy. "May you wither and rot there, thieves."

"Who the hell are you?!" Natsu snapped hotly,

"I am Hisui E. Fiore, Princess of the Fiore Kingdom." The woman replied coldly, and Hora bit the inside of her cheek.

"... the princess huh...?" Hora muttered lowly, "... Perfect, she's with the Kingdom... and probably with that damn Minister of Defense too..." She grumbled, her eyes dropping closed in agitation.

... I knew this felt like a trap...

"I don't care what you are, tell us where the damn exit is!" Natsu snapped, only to cut off as the screen disappeared and the Princess' attention went with it. The pinkette ground his teeth together, looking agitated to all hell.

"Nevermind the exit, I don't even see an entrance." PantherLily grumbled lowly,

"What are we going to do..?" Wendy asked softly,

"We're gonna have to try and find a way out." Lucy mumbled,

"But this place looks huge..." Happy mewed,

"... It is." Yukino intoned quietly, earning their eyes. "... If memory serves, there is a massive Labyrinth rumored to sit underneath the castle grounds- leagues in length, with thousands of different twists and turns." Yukino explained, "If I had to guess, this is that same place."

"... well she did say no one has ever escaped this place." Carla sighed,

"We can't just give up though...!" Happy trilled,

"We ain't gonna get stuck in here Buddy." Natsu told the Exceed quickly, "We'll find a way out, don't doubt it!"

"... well, should we split up and look for a way out..?" Wendy asked slowly, Hora shook her head.

"No I don't think that'd be a good idea." Hora murmured, "If this place really is a big maze, we might lose track of each other indefinitely if we split up, it'd be better to stick together instead of running the risk of getting lost alone."

"That makes sense." Mirajane hummed, and Wendy let out a small sigh of relief at the idea they weren't going to split apart. Everyone else nodded in agreement and Hora sighed,

"... with that in mind it'll probably just be easier to let Drille and a few of the others run around trying to find an exit." She mumbled, "With any luck they'll find one, but it might take awhile... meaning we'll probably just do better to sit still for a bit." She explained, and they all sighed at the words.

"... you're probably right." Lucy groaned, "Though this place is creepy, I'd rather not stay here too long..."

"Y-yeah..." Wendy mumbled, "... it smells pretty bad too..." She added, and Hora felt she had to agree.

"... ugh, fine...!" Natsu moaned, his arms crossing over his chest haughtily and sitting cross-legged on the dusty floor, pouting slightly as he let out a huff. Hora smiled wearily at the behavior, many of the others doing the same.

What a child

Hora shook her head and lift her hand again, digging around in her Requip for a few moments and sifting through it's contents in search of what she wanted. Lucy took the little lag in movement to actually change into the clothes that Mirajane had brought for her, hiding behind a sheet that the woman and Wendy held up for her. Yukino stayed close to Hora though, watching quietly as she pulled several pieces of paper from the her Requip, each of them sporting an illustrated bird. Hora had made several pre-drawn copies of these last night so she wouldn't have to spend time drawing out in the field.

"... if your Magic is being 'finicky', will you be able to use it to bring the Birds to life...?" Yukino asked softly, and Hora nodded.

"Yeah, it's not this half of my Magic that's being weird right now." Hora hummed, and Yukino's eyes narrowed in confusion at it. Hora didn't give the look much mind though, her eyes moved away from Yukino as she held the papers up, gold pulsing from her fingertips and the paper sent alight in flame in seconds. The paper on the edges of the illustrations burned away, before the images puffed up into form and six birds fluttered in air before her, showering the cavern floor with embers.

"W-where are we, M-Miss...?!" Drille squawked, fluffing up in fear as most of the rest of the birds did the same.

"This place is c-creepy...!" Pilli chirped,

"Sooooo creepy..!" Nalli whined,

"Are t-those skeletons..!?" Jelli yelped, her wings almost stalling in air and sending her tumbling to the floor.

"Calm down." Vylle muttered lowly to the other birds.

"You're all wimps." Fille sighed,

"Shut up!" Pilli, Nalli and Jelli snapped back hotly. Hora's eye twitched,

"Enough!" Hora interrupted, waving her hands in front of her and easily snapping the Birds' attention back to her. "Look, I know this place isn't very fun but I need you all to listen and help us out, okay? Try and be brave for me." The Birds stiffened, before nodding quickly.

"Y-yes, Miss... sorry... We'll try!" Drille, Pilli, Nalli and Jelli mumbled, Hora nodded.

"Now listen- we're trapped in here and it's a big maze, so I need you guys to spread out and try to find us an exit, alright?" Hora told them, "According to Yukino this place probably goes on for a really big distance, so it'll probably take you awhile, but it'd be good if you could search as fast as you can, okay? We don't wanna be here too long."

"Of course Miss, we will do our best!" The Birds chirped in understanding.

"Great. There shouldn't be anyone else in here as far as I know, but be careful anyway." Hora murmured, and they nodded again.

"Right!"

"Thank you." Hora murmured, and they nodded one more time, before quickly taking off in all available directions, and flapping out of sight.

"Hora, you really like birds, huh?" Happy mewed brightly, coming to a stop in front of her and raising a paw to get her attention. Hora glanced down at him and blinked, her head tilting.

"Hmm? What makes you say that?" Hora mumbled slowly,

"You make a lot of birds with your Magic! The ones for your Picto Magic are all birds, and even the ones you made out of fire in Jeihel were all birds too!" Happy mewed, "Either you really like birds- or are they the only thing you know how to make?"

"... I have wondered this myself." Yukino inputted quietly, looking away from Hora sheepishly as she glanced toward the Celestial Mage. "... I have also wondered on your naming sense... though I never mentioned it..." Yukino added even more quietly, blushing slightly in nervousness as Hora blinked several times over.

"What's wrong with my naming sense...?" Hora mumbled uncertainly, and Yukino paused, looking shocked at the question for a moment, before smiling in exasperation.

".. eh, really...?!" Happy deadpanned, "You gave all your birds super weird names, Hora! They don't even sound like names, just made up words...!" Hora frowned, her cheeks flushing in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.

"They're fine names!" She shot back quickly, "There is nothing wrong with them, and so what if they're made up?! A name can be anything you want it to be!" She hissed, her teeth gritting and actively fighting the urge to strangle Happy when he placed a paw over his mouth and snickered at her reaction.

"Ooh, touchy touchy~" He purred, her eye twitched at it, her teeth gritting further.

"... What are the other names...?" Lucy asked quietly, being the only one in the group that had not heard all of the names besides those six just then. Mirajane and Wendy smiled in amusement at the blonde,

"... If I remember correctly, they were Kaille, Reille, Erelle... Anilli, Belle, and Seylle." Mirajane recanted softly, her hand on her cheek and smiling still.

"T-there's nothing wrong with their names, you're right..." Yukino mumbled, quickly trying to appease Horatia as best she could- and the side conversation between Lucy, Wendy and Mirajane going entirely unheard. "T-they're cute... I just mentioned it because you seem to have a theme going..." She stammered, "... They all seen to end in '-illi' or '-elle' or some variant of those is all..." Hora bit the inside of her cheek, huffing.

"So what? It makes it easier to remember them all..." she grumbled hotly, "... Tch... I did make all of their names when I was six or seven you know, it was hard to keep track of names when I was so young..." She muttered.

"Oooooh, that totally makes sense now!" Happy meowed, "Those are totally names a little kid would make up, no wonder they're so weird!" A vein ticked on Hora's forehead and her teeth grit so hard they threatened to crack- but damned if her face wouldn't quit heating up in embarrassment.

"Happy, stop teasing her!" Lucy snapped from over the lip of the sheet she was hiding behind, and saving Hora from saying anything further in retort to the blue Exceed.

"I'm sorry about him, Horatia." Mirajane smiled sweetly toward the Saber Wizard, "But you needn't be so embarrassed, I think all of those names you gave your Birds are very cute- just as cute as they are. Your Magic is beautiful." Hora blinked, swallowing and blushing further despite herself at the compliment, and quickly looking away.

"... uhm, thank you..." She mumbled, and Mirajane chuckled under her breath at the reaction. Everyone else smiled slightly at Hora's embarrassment too, and Happy grinned.

"I'm sorry Hora, I wasn't trying to be mean~!" He purred, "Though I am still wondering if you do like birds a lot? I like them too, for food- though fish is always better!" He mewed, and Hora bit the inside of her cheeks, her eyes dropping closed instead of garnering the Exceed a glance.

"I'm a little curious too... you're really talented at drawing things, do you ever make any other sorts of animals?" Wendy hummed, her head tilting.

"Yeah, we never saw anything different than some sort of bird." Natsu commented, Lucy nodded a bit.

"I know you made a copy of Cana's Calling Card on your own, but you never did make anything other than birds with your Picto Magic." Lucy told her, and Hora sighed a bit.

"Even the messenger you sent to the Infirmary looked like a little bird, though it wasn't very big." Carla added in,

"And I've never seen you use anything other than birds the whole time I've known you." Yukino hummed, "I can't imagine you couldn't make different creatures, you're too good with your Magic for that to be why you've never branched out..."

Hora's arms crossed over her chest, her eyes opening only slightly to look at the ground, still chewing the insides of her cheeks as everyone else added their own inputs and questions- and she didn't answer straight away.

'... a touchy subject, is it..?' Lixue hummed. 'You created those Birds very soon after I joined you... I have always assumed they were companions made up by a lonely and terrified child. Friends in a world you felt so utterly alone and out of place in.'

She stiffened, her eyes narrowing to slits and holding her breath against his words... because he was right, and him saying it just then brought back all those terrible thoughts and emotions. All those years after what happened with Deliora, wandering and lost and hating herself and the body that no longer felt like her own... lost and in so much pain and so, so lonely. A monster now because of that wretched Magic she had been forced to have, and a monster that couldn't possibly dare have any real friends or anyone at all...

... yes, all of them- Drille, Pilli, Jelli, Vylle... every single one of those Birds, a made up, imaginary creature given life through her own thoughts and feelings and her want for just... someone to talk to.

Hora swallowed, hard, her eyes flashing and her shoulders hunching slightly despite herself.

... but why birds...? Of all things in this world, all the wonderful, fantastic things that existed, and could exist...? Of all the things that could be made up and imagined, just through thought and pen and paper... why birds...?

.:+:.

"Ahhh, look at this one it's such a pretty color...!" She hummed brightly, her eyes glittering and wide as she leaned over the book, her eyes latched to the page and the picture of that utterly crimson red bird painted there. It was so stark and red against the white of the page, like blood in snow, and with deep black around it's face... it was like nothing she had ever seen, not outside of books and pictures. Not in this village full of water and snow and ice, and staying a chilly, silent wash of winter all year long.

"What's this one called?" She asked breathlessly, her eyes daring to break away from the page and toward her Brother at her shoulder, leaning on his elbows against the desktop and smiling slightly as they both looked through the book together... tucked away in their room and sharing the single chair at the desk (well, more him sitting on the edge of it while she stood).

"Mm... its says Card... inal... Cardinal." He hummed, reading the name slowly and sounding it out a bit before putting it all together.

"Huh? I thought Mom said that was a church thingy...?" She asked immediately, and he blinked. "Like a priest guy or something."

"Nah, it must have been something else, or you heard it wrong." He replied quickly, "This is definitely 'Cardinal'. It's a bird."

"...huh..." She breathed, relenting to his explanation all so easily and looking back at the painting. "... it's so pretty... and so red...! I've never seen anything around here that red...!"

"Well duh, it's too cold up here." He told her, "Dad says all the birds stay further south, and if they come up here they freeze and leave really quick."

"But there are penguins, aren't there?" She told him, "They were in this book, so they are birds too right?"

"Yeah, but not the kind that fly." He told her with a shake of his head, "And they aren't bright colors like red or green or anything either ya know. They gotta blend in with the snow and stuff... for protection and stuff."

"Huh... that's cool... but this one is really red, does it live in places where there are like lots of red trees or something?" She asked, and her Brother paused.

"Hmm... gotta be, why else is it bright red? It'd get spotted way too easy if it didn't live somewhere where it.. it blended in and stuff, right?" He told her, almost matter-of-factly and she just soaked it all in.

Why not? What reason would she have not to trust what he told her? He was her Big Brother, he knew so much she didn't.

... the naivety, ignorance, and innocence of such a young child, she supposed... but she had loved it. Both that book and all its wondrous feathered creatures, and how happily her Brother had looked through it with her, and told her what the words said.

"Woah... red trees! That's sounds soooo cooool!" She beamed, and her Brother smiled at the grin on her face, his fingers curling under the pages and humming a bit.

"You think this is cool?" He asked, his eyes on the book as he began to flip pages and she watched him do it. "Wait until you see this one...!" He smirked, flipping quickly and skimping passed a multitude of other pages, other birds, all colors and shapes and sizes and words and lettering she couldn't read nor cared to- the pictures were more than enough for her.

And when he stopped flipping pages, the one he stopped on was huge, noble, and tall- with a long, flowing tail and a blaze of reds and oranges and golds of the like she could never have even imagined before right then. It glowed almost, sleek, shining feathers and bleeding bits of flame and embers of such wonderful hues they almost seemed to jump off the page and into real life before her very eyes.

Her heart swelled, her eyes growing wider than they ever had and the biggest smile spreading across her face as she stared at it in all it's bright, warm, fiery glory- and the smirk her Brother was wearing got bigger as he saw the way she absolutely lit up.

"Woah!!!" She was breathless even as the word made it passed her lips in hushed excitement, and she rocked up on her toes, almost bouncing with excitement. "This is awesome! What is it called?!" She asked quickly, her head snapping around toward him in excitement for only a second before she looked back at the picture again- and before he even got the chance to reply.

"It's called a Phoenix. It's a Magic Fire-Bird." Her Brother told her, and she nodded several times at the information.

"The name is even cooler! And it's a Fire-Bird?! And a Magic Bird?! It's so big, and so bright! It's so pretty, the prettiest bird in the whole world!" She exclaimed, pretty much bursting now and he smiled at it, his hand falling in his cheek and just watching her nearly jump up and down on the chair beside him... and no small amount of impressed with himself she was sure- that he'd managed to introduce her to something that got her that excited.

"You have to tell me what all the other words say!" She beamed, turning to him again and shaking his shoulder a little roughly in all her excitement. "I wanna know everything about it! Please!"

He laughed, grinning from ear to ear and his dark blue eyes shining in amusement as she shook him, and nodded at her. It was one of the few times she remembered him laughing like that... or remembered herself being so genuinely excited over something.

"I will, I will! You gotta stop shaking me first though...!"

.:+:.

Hora swallowed hard, her eyes stinging all of a sudden and blinking several times to get rid of the unwanted sensation that arose with the memory.

She had loved that book of birds. She'd loved all the pictures and she'd loved reading it with him most of all.. even if some of the time he told her information that he presented as fact, but in retrospect he had little clue... but he had to seem like he knew it all, he was her Big Brother and it was his job to know everything, right...?

She shut her eyes tight, her arms crossed over her chest tightening slightly as she willed herself not to fall into that pit of raging emotion and hurt that wanted to swallow her so badly. And reminding herself quickly that she just couldn't think about it... not now, not knowing she had spent so long thinking him dead, and not realizing just this last night that she had been so, so wrong about that... that he was alive and he might not even remember her, or any of those memories at all.

S-shit... stop..! Damn it...!

You can't think about any of that right now, you dumbass!

She took in a deep breath and held it, forcing her stiff shoulders to un-tense and glancing up slowly- and hoping she hadn't faded off into silence and her own thoughts for too long there.

"... it's gonna sound stupid." She murmured at length, casting them all a quick glance before looking at the ground again. ".... it's just... there weren't any birds around where I lived as a kid, it was too cold and never got warm enough... so I looked through this picture book about birds in other parts of the world about a dozen times with... and it just... Birds were this thing I never got to see myself, but I could imagine them, and they seemed so cool and unique... they were something I never got to have in my life back then, so I've always been really fascinated by them... so I guess... I'm just hooked on them, because of all that..." She trailed off uncertainly, and then shook her head at herself when she realized her thoughts were dangerously close to going down that avenue of memory and heartache she couldn't risk traipsing down again, not even a little. Not right now.

Yukino blinked, her eyes growing wide and her expression falling flat in shock as she found herself staring at her friend for a few seconds in stunned silence- even as the Fairy Tailers smiled at the explanation and how cute it sounded to them. And it was cute, and a little adorable- more so because Hora seemed embarrassed with it all... but to Yukino?

Hora never talked about her family or her childhood, ever. Not once in all the time she had known Hora had there even been mention of her parents, or where she lived, or anything that had happened in the years before SaberTooth... Hell, little had even been said about the earliest years of Hora being in SaberTooth. Not even when Yukino had told Hora all about her own life, of her parent's demise and her older sister's disappearance... So for Horatia to mention something like that now, and so out of the blue..?

Yukino's eyes glittered, her hands linking together in front of her and eyes searching Hora as the Devil Slayer glanced up again after a few moments, and shook her head- while also seeming to shake off what bit of silence and seriousness that had befallen her for a few moments.

"That's kinda cute, Hora." Wendy told the Saber Wizard brightly, and Hora blushed slightly at it.

"... If you.. say so..." She mumbled, looking away from the young Dragon Slayer and everyone else altogether. Yukino bit the inside of her cheek, hesitating for a moment, before stepping closer to Hora and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"... Hora... you never talk about your childhood." Yukino told her softly, her head tilting as Hora stiffened a little at the words.

"... oh... I guess.... I don't really, do I...?" Hora mumbled uncertainly, her eyes falling to her hands as she tapped her fingers together a bit nervously. "... it's just... I kinda do now... at least a little... since last night..." She murmured, and Yukino's head tilted a bit further in question.

"... what happened?" Yukino pressed, her eyes flashing. "It must have been something serious... you seem a little off, honestly... and you look exhausted, Hora." Yukino told her softly, and Hora grimaced a bit at the assertion. "... and what you said earlier, about the Master... what is going on...? Are you in trouble or...?"

Hora shook her head, cutting Yukino off a little and her eyes flashing as she met the Celestial Mage's gaze again. "... a lot of really big stuff happened... and none of it all that good, honestly." Hora replied quietly, "... And you need and deserve to know about it... it's just a lot, and I'm not sure right now is a good time to get into it..."

"... if we will be waiting awhile on your Birds, it may be as good a time as any." Yukino pointed out gently, "... you don't have to explain everything at once, but enough so I understand what is going on? If things have really changed so drastically in one night, there's probably at least some of the more pressing parts I need to know right now, yes...?" Hora stayed quiet for a few moments, her eyes steady on Yukino as she let the words sink in, and she tried to come to a decision on what she ought to do... Yukino had a point, even barring some of the more major things- there was probably quite a bit that they needed squared away sooner rather than later.

"... alright." Hora relented softly, "... both you and Lucy probably ought to get caught up on what happened, and we do have some time while Drille and the others search... so okay. But give me a minute to make sure we aren't being listened in on, I don't trust there aren't any monitoring Magic or Devices in this place." Hora explained, and Yukino nodded.

"Alright." She hummed and Hora stepped passed her, her eyes finding Lucy pulling on her last boot and catching the blonde's attention, and the rest of the Fairy Tailers all at once.

"... since we'll probably be waiting awhile for my Birds to get back, I figure we might as well catch Lucy and Yukino up on what's going on with all of this." Hora announced softly, and winced internally at the tense faces she earned from the Fairy Tailers who were already aware of all that had happened.

"... that's probably wise." Carla relented quietly, earning stiff nods from Wendy, Mirajane and PantherLily, whilst Natsu and Happy just frowned slightly- though they didn't argue with it.

"... alright, well if we're gonna talk about it I would feel better if I made sure we can't be listened in on." Hora sighed, walking toward them and gesturing toward Yukino to follow.

"Listen in?" Happy echoed,

"I suppose it would be foolish to think the Kingdom doesn't have some way of monitoring us in this place." Lily commented dryly, immediately understanding what Hora meant and earning nervous looks from Wendy and Lucy alike.

"W-what...?! You mean they might have just been watching me get changed...!?" Lucy stammered, blushing up a storm and looking mortified at the idea.

"That's so creepy...!" Wendy said,

"Well if they were watching Lucy, at least they had a good show~!" Happy chirped, only to get clonked on the head by the blonde.

"Shut up you pervy cat!" She snapped hotly,

Hora hummed a bit under her breath at the sight, though she didn't linger on it too long. She shook her head and kept walking until she was about seven or eight feet from where they had all grouped together, most everyone hanging back at Yukino's soft request to do so- naturally, since Yukino knew well what Hora was planning to do in order to keep them from being eavesdropped on. It was a familiar habit adopted by the woman when she wanted to make sure neither Minerva nor Master Jiemma could listen in on conversations it would be better they were not privy too.

"Oi Hora, what are you doing?" Natsu asked instantly, his arms crossed over his chest and watching Hora intently as she began to walk in a circle around their group, dragging her foot in the process and creating a line in the dirt as she went.

"... it's a Silence Barrier..." Hora mumbled, her eyes stuck to the circle she was making and not him. "... it's a Spell that nullifies all sound from inside it's contents... I use it a lot to keep from getting eavesdropped on by the wrong people." She explained, halting once she had completed the circle and instead turning her attention to her hands, fire traced in air from her fingers in the shapes of Runes. The Runes themselves moved as she continued to right them, moving out and sticking themselves against the floor on top of the line that Hora had drawn, trapping them in a circle and glowing dimly against the sand, stationary and silent as Hora finished writing them and then turned to the Fairy Tailers again. "There, that should do it. We can talk, and no one will hear what we say... Kingdom or otherwise." She announced softly, clearing the space back toward them and her arms crossing over her chest.

... where do I even start...?

Hora sighed and settled down to sit on the floor cross-legged, her hands falling on her knees and quiet for a few moments as she mused over where she was supposed to begin, or even how much she needed to go into all of it... because it was a lot, and the thought of rehashing out all the details and all the terrible bits was just seriously exhausting. Everyone else seemed to take her hint to sit and slowly settled on the cavern floor around and in front of her, quiet and expectant- but more so in the case of the two Celestial Mages they had come to rescue (and sort of hit a snag with already...).

"... to begin with I guess... it would be worth mentioning that us being here is a two part plan." Hora started slowly, "That Darton guy said he'd release Lucy if Fairy Tail managed to win the Grand Magic Games today, and on the chance he'll keep his word on that, the Fairy Tail team is doing their utmost to win right now... with Mavis' help and planning." Hora explained, and Lucy blinked in surprise at the name, while Yukino looked confused.

Who is Mavis..?

She never got around to asking though, and Hora didn't linger on it.

"... but even if they do win, there was no promise he was gonna let Yukino go, and we really weren't sure if he was gonna keep his word or not, since he's all bent out of shape about this Eclipse Gate thing." Hora went on, and Yukino grimaced slightly at it, Lucy too. "So instead of putting all hopes on that, we decided to send a team into the castle to come get the both of you instead- which is us... and hopefully we could get you both out without being noticed, though that part hasn't quite gone to plan already." Hora sighed,

"... how did you get involved in this?" Yukino asked Hora softly, but not pausing to let the Devil Slayer answer, before Yukino's eyes moved toward Natsu and the others. "... did you contact Hora after we were arrested last night, and tell her what was going on, or...?" She started, and upon earning a slightly pained grimace from Wendy, Happy and Natsu alike, she stiffened and trailed off.

"... Yukino, do you remember what Salamander said when you ran into him, that night you got kicked out...?" Hora asked slowly, and Yukino's eyes snapped back her way. "... about Jiemma having something on me, that kept me from standing up to him...? Even after all the shit he did, to me and everyone else...?" Hora mumbled, and Yukino nodded stiffly, her eyes glittering.

".. yes, of course..." She replied, and Hora let out a low breath.

"... well he had it right." Hora told her softly, her eyes breaking from Yukino briefly to catch Lucy's as the blonde listened in stiff silence. Lucy had been told what had happened to Hora a few months ago by Yukino, of how badly her Master had hurt her and to the point she had almost died, and how cruel Jiemma was to everyone else in the SaberTooth Guild. And that being the reason they all put up Face and acted as terrible as they did to the outside world... out of fear, terrified they wouldn't live up to their Master's terrible standards and be punished harshly for it. That the SaberTooth she had seen and witnessed in the Grand Magic Games so far as ruthless and arrogant and harsh was just an act, and in reality they hated being that way and being so hurtful to the other Guilds... but what choice did they have?

None at all, as Yukino described it. And the fear and the pain in that girl last night as she and Lucy sat alone in the prison cell, and Yukino tearfully recanted what had all gone on, and all the horrors those in SaberTooth faced everyday, was not something Lucy was lightly to ever forget... and it made her sick, and angry, and worried all at once. She could scarcely imagine it, or believe it- but she knew it was true, and quickly understood what warning Hora had given her all those months ago.

.:+:.

"... have you ever noticed, that sometimes you don't really know what a person's like... unless you become close to them?" Hora asked, "... SaberTooth is kinda like that. They all come off as mean and cold and cocky... but that's not how they actually are. But the only way anyone can see that is if they get close to us... and not many people do." She sweatdropped a little more, "... You probably won't like anyone else in SaberTooth when you meet them, and I can't just... make you see what kind people they are deep down. I can just tell you, that who you see on the outside is nothing like who they are on the inside." She smiled a bit wearily, her eyes not moving up to meet Lucy's.

".. as for me... I'm just a bit more open is all. I guess..." She sighed, "When the GMG rolls around, try not to take how my Guild acts to heart. With the exception of... two of them... all the rest of them aren't bad people at heart. Though how they act will probably make you think differently."

.:+:.

"... I haven't been able to leave SaberTooth or stand up to Jiemma or Minerva, because this whole time I've been... well more or less a Prisoner." Hora kept on, her voice tensing as her eyes dropped closed. "I have a Lacrima in my chest, that's meant to help keep my Devil Slaying Magic at bay, and from driving me insane, or just consuming and killing me... without it, I die, because the Devil Slaying Magic is too powerful to exist in my body all by itself. It would burn me alive from the inside out, and I probably wouldn't last more than a few hours without it... I need this Lacrima to survive." Hora explained quietly, her hand falling lightly on her chest and eyes on the ground... Mostly to avoid the shock and terror quickly working it's way into Lucy and Yukino's faces with every word, and the more pained looks shared by everyone else at hearing it all again. It was still so hard to listen to even a second time around.

".... When Jiemma took over SaberTooth, he found out about it. And to keep me in line and in the Guild, he put a Possession Link on the Lacrima... effectively trapping me, and making it impossible to leave, or disobey him, or anything else. With the Possession Link he could destroy the Lacrima with a single thought, any time he wanted, and I couldn't do anything about it." Hora mumbled lowly, "... I couldn't ever stand up to him or try and fight back, otherwise he'd just kill me on the spot..." Hora murmured quietly, her eyes still closed and missing the looks of horror that passed across Yukino and Lucy's faces, their blood turning to ice and paling.

"... W...what...?" Yukino stammered almost hoarsely, while Lucy's hands moved up to cover her mouth and the shaky breath she let out.

"... T... That's horrible..." Lucy whispered,

"... W...were... You've been living with your life in Jiemma's hands... T..this whole time...?" Yukino stammered breathlessly, trembling slightly now as the words sunk in deeper and heavier, and her mind whirled for it. "... B..but Hora... H...how... How could you have never told us something like this...?" Yukino asked quickly, "... I mean... We would have helped you, or tried to do something...! Why... Why did you keep this to yourself this whole time...? Living with that..." Yukino hissed and Hora glanced up slowly, her eyes flashing as she saw the turmoil and the hurt and the... The betrayal in Yukino, and her heart ached at it.

"... It wasn't a matter of trust or anything, and it wasn't personal... I just... I couldn't tell anyone, and definitely not anybody in the Guild... Because I was afraid of what you all might do, and what might happen to you if you tried to retaliate against Jiemma... or how badly he might hurt any of you, and I wouldn't be able to help you or stop it." Hora told her quietly, her voice tensing at the end and Yukino stiffened. "... I didn't want any of you hurt on my account, and I didn't want you to get killed trying to fix it... All this time I've known there wasn't anything that could be done to free me. Possession Links can't be broken by anyone outside of the one who creates them- every single piece of information I found on them through the years all said the same thing... There was nothing you or I could do..."

".. B... But we still could have tried...!" Yukino replied quickly, shaking her head. "W... We could have known, we could have tried to understand and... And you didn't have to spend all this time living alone with that terrible secret, Hora...!" Yukino hissed, clearly angry now but the sadness in her eyes and the way they shone gave away just how much the truth hurt her. "... Y... You're always keeping an eye on all of us, and trying to keep us safe and happy... But what about you...?! We could have known, and we wouldn't have been kept wondering and worrying all this time about you and why you let Jiemma hurt you so much, without ever understanding why you just took all of it...! I mean... We've all told you so much...! Me and Sting and Rogue, and everyone else in the Guild...! You listen to all of us and help us feel better, and we trust you with our secrets... B..but... But you never let us help you with yours...!"

Hora swallowed, her heart aching more and more as Yukino kept on, and she found it harder and harder to force herself not to let her eyes drop in guilt or shame or any of it... And she felt it. She'd been feeling it, for years, every time and conversation she had ever wanted to tell them, or she got so close to it... And worse after letting it all out and earning this same lecture from just about everyone she had told so far.

And she was right. They were all right, she knew that and understood it... But being reminded of it over and over and seeing how much it hurt them all? To realize they had been lied to and had so much hidden from them? How much they hated she had just left herself to suffer all this time, while they were none the wiser...? And all they wanted to do, wished with everything they could have... Was that they could have known, and could have tried to help her. Even if it was just a little.

They just wished they had been given the chance to try, but she had robbed them all of that.

I messed up so much... But I can't fix it all...

"... I know." Was all she could say, and really- what else could she reply with and not make it worse? She knew she fucked up, she knew she should have done things much differently... But it was too late to change any of that, and all she could do now was apologize.

"... I'm so sorry." Hora whispered, her head bowing slightly. "... I know all of that, and I know I messed up, and that I should have told you long before now... I get it, and I truly am sorry. I'm trying to do better... It just might be slow going, on the honesty part, and being able to explain it all... It's just so complicated... This whole mess with the Kingdom and the Eclipse Gate aside, everything else is just so... Crazy... You have no idea how much..." She apologized softly, her head and body lowering a bit more in a gesture of submission, regret, guilt- you name it. And Yukino and Lucy both stared, quiet and eyes shinning, they eyes of the rest of the Fairy Tailers fixed as well and somber.

"... I'm sorry." Hora repeated again, softer this time around and they all felt their hearts twist at how strained her voice sounded so suddenly, and just for a moment there. "... Really... And I'm gonna be even more sorry, after I explain the rest of this... And what happened last night, after you two got arrested..." She added lowly, almost wincing at the idea of going through the whole thing. Lucy and Yukino blinked, looking a little confused while everyone else seemed to wilt a little.

And so she set into the next part- about what has happened at the Inn with Jiemma, and Sting and Lector. Explained that their 'Guild Master' was now dead and cold and Minerva had seized control and Lector both before anyone could have reacted- and long before Hora knew about any of it, or anyone back in Saber had realized she was no longer there. As expected the news about Jiemma's demise earned no small amount of shock from the Celestial Mages, but it also seemed to trouble Yukino quite a bit- though mostly at the fact that it had been Sting to deal the killing blow.

And of course it was hard for Yukino to imagine a world where Jiemma just... didn't exist anymore. And all the hatred and the cruelty he had forced the Guild through was done and over with in the course of only a few seconds? Like the rest of the Guild, she couldn't fathom it... how could it have been that easy?

But worse than that, was the idea of Lector in Minerva's clutches. Yukino and Lucy's hearts both ached for the Exceed, both of them all too aware of how cruel and hateful Minerva really was.

"... but I was dropped on the other side of Crocus and had no idea any of this was even going on." Hora sighed quietly, shaking her head a bit as an involuntary shiver ran up her spine at what fleeting memory of that Stranger invaded her mind. "... and Jiemma didn't want to die easy, he was determined to do as much damage as he could even as he was bleeding out... so he used the Possession Link to begin destroying the Lacrima inside of me." Hora mumbled, her hand falling on her chest again and Lucy and Yukino went rigid.

"W-wait, what...?!" Yukino hissed, leaning in as Lucy did the same.

"D-Didn't you just say that doing that would kill you...?!" Lucy snapped fearfully, and Hora nodded solemnly.

"... Yeah, exactly." Hora replied, her hand finding the back of her neck as she wilted a bit, her eyes dropping closed. "... and because it was being broken, my Devil Slayer Magic got really out of hand, really quickly... I was a mess, and it was definitely killing me, and I couldn't do anything about it-"

"Are you okay..?!" Lucy and Yukino snapped in unison and Hora blinked,

"-I'm fine." She replied quickly, though they looked none too assured by the answer. "I mean... it wasn't fun... and it definitely sucked, but I am okay." Hora assured softly, her head tilting toward Wendy and the others. "... everyone that had been with you when you got arrested found where I was, and Wendy managed to break the Possession Link before Lixue got destroyed completely." Hora explained with a small, slightly tired smile.

"B-but... Should you even be here...? If you were... Were d-dying just last night, should you be running around...?!" Yukino hissed, "... I.. I mean how bad did it get...?! Are you badly hurt, or..?!"

"Yukino calm down, I'm okay." Hora interrupted her gently. "Really, Wendy did a lot to heal me up last night, I'm totally fine to be here..." Hora murmured, and Wendy nodded tentatively.

"... I did everything I could." Wendy told Yukino rather shyly, and Yukino paused, her eyes shinning and not sure if she was looking to believe it- Lucy looked little convinced as well.

"I really am alright." Hora repeated, before pausing a second and smiling wryly. "... Well... At least mostly. I'm probably gonna need to sleep for a week or so after all this mess gets cleared up to be honest..." She added, and she was right- she would probably sleep for a week once things settled... And probably much more than a week if OverDrive had its way... Not that she need mention that bit right now.

"... Are you sure...?" Yukino and Lucy asked slowly, and Hora nodded again.

"Yeah." She hummed, and they glanced between each other, before slowly nodding.

"... So... You're no longer... Trapped...?" Lucy asked at length, "... Now that Jiemma is... And Wendy broke the Link...?"

"Yeah, I'm free." Hora told her softly, "And because of the Link being gone, I can use Lixue's Magic again too- I haven't been able to, since the Link got placed on me. But now I can." Hora murmured, "...it's Lixue's half of my Magic that's being a bit touchy right now, since the Lacrima is still damaged... It should repair itself on its own in time, but for now I kinda have to watch how much of it I use." She added with a glance at Yukino, but both Yukino and Lucy looked a little more confused now.

"... Who's Lixue...?" They both mumbled in unison, and Hora blinked.

"I'm wondering that too..." Wendy murmured, earning nods of agreement from everyone else.

"Yeah, you mentioned that name a few times now but you never said who it is..." Natsu told her, before trailing off slightly and tilting his head. "Wait a minute, ain't 'Lixue' that the same person you were talking to that night we were working the job together? When you were by yourself outside?" Natsu told her, and Hora bit the inside of her cheek, her hand moving up to rub the back of her neck a little as she halfway nodded, halfway shook her head.

Oh... Right, I forgot Salamander heard me talking to Lixue out loud... And I only actually told Sting, Rogue, Rufus, Orga and Frosch about Lixue, huh...?

"... Ah, well it's gonna sound... Kinda insane...? Well... more insane than everything else..?" Hora started off uncertainly, "... Lixue's not really a person per say... he's actually the LifeForce of a creature who got locked away in the Lacrima in my chest, and it's his Magic that keep the Devil Slayer Magic from getting too out of hand... since it's an opposite nature to the base Element of Fire it uses..." Hora murmured, grimacing just a bit as she saw their faces quickly fall either completely blank, or completely unsure. "... he's supposed to help keep me balanced and whatever... and generally he does, not just in terms of Magic, but he talks to me too, in my... head..." She trailed off all the way this time, grimacing a bit more.

... that does make me sound completely and utterly crazy when I say it out loud...

She groaned internally, suddenly reminded of when she'd started talking to Lixue out loud in the middle of the fight at North Wind... you know, where all of the Council guys started muttering about her and wondering if she was crazy and talking to herself.

What had been the answer she thought up back then, that sounded just as crazy as everything she had said just now?

"No I'm not crazy, I just happen to have this big old, annoying prat in my head named Lixue who's supposed to keep me from going Dark. Oh and by the way, Lixue's actually-"

She cut the thought off when they all shifted a little, their initial hesitation wearing off as they all blinked once, twice, and then several times over as the words struggled to sink in and... well, make sense. And find a way of just... believing it..?

"... wait, what?" Lucy mumbled,

"... what do you mean... creature...?" Yukino stammered uncertainly,

"... you hear him in your head?" Natsu and Wendy asked quietly in unison,

"You hear strange voices in your head, Hora?" Happy mewed,

"Is it even possible for a creature to exist inside a Lacrima and still be... cognate...?" Lily wondered aloud,

"... that does sound ludicrous." Carla huffed a bit, while Mirajane smiled, though she did look a little unnerved anyway.

"... well it can't be much different than how Take-Over Magic works, right?" The barmaid mused, clearly trying to come up with a reasonable comparison that didn't make Hora seem too crazy. "I mean I technically have demons living in me, that I can use for my own purposes, so maybe having something exist in a Lacrima isn't so unbelievable... though the Demon's I've taken over don't ever speak with me....." She added softly, and Hora wilted.

"... I told you it sounded crazy... but I'm serious... and I'm not actually insane..." She mumbled, "... and it's not strange voices, it's just the one. Lixue." She added toward Happy, and he flicked his tail back and forth, tapping his paw to his chin.

"Hearing several voices or even just one isn't really normal." He told her brightly, and she hissed a bit under her breath.

'... in my day, talking cats were not normal either. And yet there that creature stands, and several others like it.' Lixue commented dryly,

The passive-aggressive stuff is not helping, Lixue...

"... I mean... it's not that we don't believe you Hora, it's just... surprising." Lucy told her slowly, though 'surprising' was probably putting it a little too nicely.

"... I've never noticed you.. talking with yourself... at least not much to be a pattern." Yukino mumbled,

"... well like I said, I haven't been able to use Lixue's Magic since Jiemma put that Possession Link on me." Hora replied, "And more than that... I couldn't hear Lixue either. He just stopped talking... it's like the Possession Link made him hibernate or something all this time... he only started up again after what happened three months ago, when Jiemma hurt me, and OverDrive got stirred up..." And she trailed off again before she got too far into that line of thought, because the mere mention of 'OverDrive' earned her even more questioning looks from the Fairy Tailers who had no clue what that was. And she didn't want to get into it that either, not right then.

But all intention of continuing on with the conversation got shattered, Hora's smile breaking in an instant as she went stiff as a board and the sensation of something disappearing washed over her... several sensations of it, all in three seconds.

No way-

She grit her teeth, her eyes snapping away from the Fairy Tailers and toward their surroundings, on sudden high alert and already shifting onto one knee, her nose twitching and eyes narrowed to slits.

Her reaction was noted immediately by everyone else, all of them tensing too and on edge as they mirrored her and found themselves instantly ready for anything.

"What?" Natsu asked her quickly, his tone low as Hora grumbled under her breath.

"All of my Birds just got destroyed." She hissed lowly, and everyone stiffened at the words.

"A-all of them...?" Happy mewed softly,

"Then that means-" Wendy mumbled,

"-we are not alone in here." Lily finished for her lowly,

Their murmurs got cut off as the cavern around them rumbled, bits of debris falling from the roof and tumbling down around them as the bones clattered with all the movement. They struggled to keep their footing the floor because the floor was shaking so much, and there was the loud and thundering sound of something like the earth cracking open from somewhere down a tunnel that was on their right. So loud it hurt Wendy, Natsu and Hora's ears a little, and Hora growled, her ears trained that way and sniffing at the air for any sign of what it was... all she smelled was the lingering scent of rot and death and earth, and something new- something sharper she couldn't place, but immediately made her just a bit more tense.

What the hell...?

The trembling of the cavern carried on for a few more moments before it faded into nothing, and they could keep their feet easily again.

"W-What was that...?!" Lucy stammered,

"It sounded like a cave-in!" Happy mewed,

"... I can feel fresh air." Wendy said aloud, immediately perking at the small, faint feel of fresh, non-stagnant air that emerged after the shaking. Hora and Natsu caught a whiff of it too, though it was gone fast- but Wendy of course was much more attuned to changes in the air than they were, or anyone else. She was a Sky Dragon Slayer after all.

"You think an exit may have opened up?" Carla asked,

"Let's go check it out." Natsu grumbled, immediately taking off in the direction they had heard the sound, while everyone else quickly followed his lead. Hora swiped her hand in front of her and the Runes flickering around the circle disappeared before they stepped across them,

"-and keep an eye out for whoever the hell destroyed my Birds.." Hora added in lowly, shooting the comment toward the pinkette, and he nodded as his only reply.

They moved quickly, Natsu and Happy at the head and Hora taking a natural position at the back with everyone else sandwiched in between. The further they went, the more haphazard the cavern started to look, and the more the stone seemed... melted.

Hora's eyes narrowed to slits, the sour scent she had picked up on before suddenly sharpening and almost chemical in type... and the way the stone seemed melted?

They staggered to a halt as a wall rose up in front of them, with a large fissure worn into it- stretching clean through the the other side of what had previously been about 100 feet of solid rock.

"Woah, that's a really big hole...!" Happy mewed,

".. yeah..." Lucy mumbled,

"... it looks like the stone's been melted.." Yukino mumbled, "... by fire, or...?"

"... no, it smells more like some kind of acid." Hora told her lowly,

"Then someone opened it on purpose?" Carla murmured,

"Possibly the same person who destroyed Horatia's Birds." PantherLily grumbled,

"... should we go through it...?" Wendy asked softly,

"It might be a trap." Mirajane told her, and Natsu nodded.

"Yeah, but I can smell fresher air coming from the other side now too." He told them, "Bets are there is some sort of exit that way, so even if it's a trap or somethin', we got nowhere else to go."

"... I guess so..." Lucy mumbled, though she looked little thrilled with the idea. Hora sighed silently, her eyes fixed on the opening and not on the Fairy Tailers, her eyes straining for view of the far side through what was a very tight squeeze, and her ears searching for anything outside of everyone else's voices... she couldn't hear anything but the faint hiss of steam coming off some of the rocks still, warm to the touch after being melted so quickly. She could smell fresher air more clearly here too, like Natsu said, and it probably did mean there was some place they might be able to get out... but being lead here so blatantly did not sit well.

Hora blinked, her eyes narrowing further as something else pricked at her nose- a new scent, nearly lost under everything else... and one she didn't recognize at all, despite what she was sure might be blood or... burned flesh.

She grimaced, biting the inside of her cheek at it.

"Come on." Natsu grumbled, waving the Exceeds ahead of him, and all three of PantherLily, Carla and Happy having absolutely no trouble fitting through the tight space with their small size. Wendy went ahead of him with Natsu following close behind, and then Lucy. Yukino was next and Mirajane went after her, with Hora going last and sighing to herself as she found herself quickly having to move slow in order to carefully slide past the rough rock wall enclosing them.

"... this is really tight..." Lucy groaned, about halfway through, clearly uncomfortable as she struggled to keep moving herself through the narrow space... mostly hindered by what little space existed between the rock in front of her and her chest.

"... can you manage well enough, Yukino?" Mirajane asked the girl ahead of her, who blushed a bit and nodded shyly- her chest was making it difficult for her too, Mirajane with similar issue.

"Yes, but barely..." Yukino mumbled, Mirajane smiled in slight exasperation. Wendy and Natsu ahead of them were moving with little to no issue at all though, and Mirajane turned her head a bit to look back at where Hora was.

"... are you doing alright, Horatia?" She asked, her blue eyes landing on Hora not more than a few paces behind her, and clearly moving faster than either Mirajane, Lucy, or Yukino were. Hora blinked at the question, sweatdropping slightly and flushing when Mirajane's eyes quickly flicked from Hora's face, toward the decent amount of room there was left available between Hora's own chest and the wall.

"... ah..." Mirajane mumbled softly, almost without meaning to, before smiling at Hora in what as somewhat an apologetic way.

"... I'm fine..." She mumbled, her cheeks heating up a little more and sighing to herself.

'... it seems a ridiculous thing to be embarrassed about, Horatia. You can move easier with a smaller-' Lixue told her, before she cut him off with a sharp shake of her head.

Do not say another word!

'... tch... humans.'

Hora grit her teeth, grumbling silently to herself the rest of the way through to the other side, and having to pause for a bit for Lucy to wriggle herself free of the rock as it narrowed at the end a bit too much to allow her easy way through... which ended in Natsu trying to pull her out, and then promptly falling flat on his back while Lucy landed on him with a painful thud, for the second time that day. Natsu hissed, his teeth gritting and grumbling at the blonde for being 'heavy', though he made no move to push Lucy off and Hora couldn't help but smirk slightly at the sight once she stepped out of the tight space herself.

"Here Salamander..." Hora chuckled, stepping out of the fissure and extending a hand to help the pinkette back to his feet once Mirajane helped Lucy on to hers. He huffed and took it, Hora easily pulling him up and smirking still, "You good? That's the second time she's dog-piled you, ya know... you getting slow, Salamander?" Hora asked lightly, and he stiffened, frowning a bit and pointedly looked away from her.

"I'm fine, and I ain't slow." He huffed, and Hora smiled still, chuckling under her breath a bit more.

There were probably worse things than Lucy to keep falling on top of him... and him quickly averting his eyes just made it more amusing, and also told her he probably didn't mind her falling on top of him nearly as much as he might pretend otherwise.

"Guys, there's someone over there...!" Wendy's voice broke her attention on Natsu, and everyone's heads snapped around quickly to her call. Hora blinked, hesitating for half a second while Natsu started off near right away.

... someone...?

She followed close behind, grimacing to herself as the scent of blood and singed flesh got a little stronger, and she saw shock and fear run across the faces of Yukino and the Fairy Tailers as they came up on the figure of a man, beaten and bloody and severely bruises- with no small amount of burns running across his body... the burns themselves weren't that bad, but he was overall in terrible shape, and Hora frowned at it. They gathered around him, circling slightly with Natsu and Wendy at the front and Happy and Carla too, followed by Lucy, Yukino and Mirajane while Hora and Lily brought up the back. Wendy darted forward immediately and took a knee beside the man, her hands hovering above him and glowing a pale blue as she set to work on trying to heal some of the injuries.

"... o.. oh no..." Yukino hissed, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.

"... this is terrible..." Wendy mumbled softly, her brows knitting in worry.

"... ain't he that Arcadios Guy..?" Happy mewed,

"... the White Knight." Carla murmured lowly, Hora tilted her head slightly.

"... this is the guy that brought you guys on for the Eclipse Gate thing?" Hora asked softly, and Yukino and Lucy nodded stiffly, though they didn't glance back at her.

"Yes... but I can't believe they would do this to him..." Lucy whispered,

"... with Darton being so opposed to the Project, it wouldn't be hard to imagine he was willing to throw Arcadios in here like we were." PantherLily commented lowly, Hora shook her head a bit though.

"... no, it wouldn't be a stretch." She told the Exceed quietly, "But doing this much damage to him before tossing him in? Even if the guy fought back, this is a lot... and those are definitely burns, I can't imagine the Royal Army is using any sort of weapon that would do that to him." Hora pointed out with a tilt of her head toward the man, and PantherLily's eyes narrowed at the words, his paws crossing over his chest and ears falling back slightly as he nodded.

"... you have a point." He replied quietly, "... these injuries would suggest someone who uses Magic... perhaps the same kind that created the opening?" He suggested, and Hora nodded stiffly.

"... that'd be my guess." She replied grimly, her eyes level with PantherLily's for a few seconds as they held each other's gazes, both of them tense and serious- because they both realized the same thing. The Markings appeared across Hora's skin and slowly began to crawl down toward her wrist and across her chest, while PantherLily's paw lift and he popped his sword out of it's sheathe a little.

There is little chance this is not a trap or some ploy... and whoever did all of this is assuredly lurking somewhere in the shadows.

"Oi, dude, you okay..?" Natsu grumbled, taking a knee on the other side of Arcadios from where Wendy was and nudging the guy a bit to try and rouse him. Arcadios stiffened, a low hiss of pain escaping his lips as his eyes fluttered open halfway, and his blurry attention found the figures of those standing over him.

"Colonel Arcadios, what happened...?" Yukino asked quickly, and he winced, his voice rough and low as he shook his head a bit.

"... t...tch... run..."

Hora and Lily stiffened, shivers running up their spines as the sensation of someone looming over them, and Hora dug her heel into the dirt, the Markings spreading along her arms faster and flame licking off her body in the matter of a few seconds.

"Pop! Sploosh!"

Hora whipped around, golden-azure fire arcing across the ground in tune with her movement and eyes flinty and flashing gold, the acrid and chemical scent of acid and someone unfamiliar hitting her nose straight on.

"Fire Devil's; Guardian Circle!" Hora snapped, a waft of air rushing into the everyone behind her, causing them to bring their hands up and cover their eyes, their faces washed against by a thick cloud of heat. A flickering visage of a Magic Circle flashed in front of Hora for a split second, before it imploded and air shook with it.

The glow of gold and blue lit up the cavern and bounced from the stone, heat wafting around through the air in wild currents as a wave of sizzling, sickly yellow-green acid crashed against the sheer, near solid wall of flame that encased their group in a circle, below their feet a Magic Circle now resting and it's edges rung around by the wall of flame.

The hiss of acid on flame washed out all other noise, spouts of steam rising up into the air and the bits that didn't get burned up splashing against the stone and wearing puddles into it, melting with ease. The large and bulky shadow of whomever had previously been standing behind them suddenly was no longer there though, not after a satisfying thump of their body against the wall of flame that rushed up in two seconds time. The figure got thrown a few feet away, hissing. He was big, and round, and clutching what looked like a wine bottle in his teeth as he pushed himself up off the floor, looking none too pleased at being thrown just then.

Who the hell is that guy?

Hora growled, her eyes narrowed to slits and still glowing gold as everyone else readjusted themselves, slightly reeling at just how quickly Hora had reacted, but shaking it off as they prepared themselves for whatever else was coming.

The flames at the edge of the circle didn't even have time to simmer down though before Hora saw someone else move from the corner of her eye, her head snapping around just as their voice reached her, and she saw another man, with strange clothes, a headband, and a mess of a ponytail with wild black hair leaning over a bit, his hands grabbing to a large flag.

"Haul, Haul, Haul!"

Hora turned on instinct- she was sure that the Circle would block whatever he intended to throw their way, but she felt her heart skip a beat as their eyes locked and he grinned, raising the flag up off the ground in a powerful swing. She felt the earth under her feet tremble, the scent of water hitting her nose from literally nowhere.

"Huge Haul!"

Shit, I don't-

"Move!" She ordered sharply of everyone behind her, her eyes leaving the man and darting toward them as her order rang over the cavern- only to nearly get drowned out by the sound of the earth splitting open, and the roar of what seemed an ocean. Large cracks erupted in the stone, appearing underneath the confines of the Magic Circle of her Spell as water surged from the floor at breakneck speed- her Spell disassembled nearly all the way with the Circle being broken from below, and then got squashed as the huge torrents of water rammed into them all with painful force, destroying the azure-gold flame and sending the Fairies and Sabers flying.

Hora coughed, the water rushing into her and knocking her onto her back, hissing off her skin and the intensity of the heat of the Markings. She flipped over backward and landed on the balls of her feet in a crouch, skidding back a few paces from the momentum of being thrown before halting and seeing most everyone else bounce against the floor around her, Natsu holding on to Arcadios and Mirajane holding to Yukino. Her eyes matched with the vacant stare of the man and his flag, smiling blankly at her and tilting his head.

"Your fire couldn't hold up against my Wave Zone, tai~?" He hummed brightly, and Hora's teeth grit in agitation.

"... huh..?!" Wendy hissed, jumping to the side a bit as strange plants suddenly erupted from the floor near her, and a huge bloom broke free of the earth- a woman sitting in it's midst. Hora's head snapped quickly from the flag man and toward the sight, before being diverted again by the flutter of purple confetti paper floating on air in a massive storm, before converging in on themselves in and revealing the figure of a woman now standing beside the first. And behind the both of them stood someone else entirely, covered in armor and a cloak, with two huge scythes on his back and a mask to cover his face. Hora growled under her breath, her fists clenching at her sides as she pushed herself back up onto her feet,

"... I... I told you to... Run..." Arcadios hissed, struggling to lift his head up.

"You know who these people are?" Natsu grumbled in reply,

"... T... They're an independent faction... Employed by the Kingdom..." Arcadios grumbled, "... They're the reason no one ever... Escapes this place... The Hungry Wolf Knights... The king's ultimate executioners..."

"... Executioners, huh...?" Hora grumbled lowly,

"... That's not good..." Happy mumbled,

"... Hungry Wolf Knights?" Natsu echoed, his eyes narrowing at the five new arrivals and tilting his head. "... But they don't even look like knights? Where's their armor?" He grumbled, "OI! Ain't you all supposed to be matching?!" He snapped hotly at the Wolves. Hora, Lucy and several others all sighed in exasperation.

"Natsu, I think we have bigger things to be worrying about than if they're all matching...!" Lucy told him,

"Seriously Salamander..." Hora mumbled,

"But how can they call themselves Knights if they don't look the part?!" Natsu argued instantly, Hora grit her teeth a bit.

"Enough." The man in armor with scythes interrupted coldly. "Your blabbering is useless, criminals."

"...eh?! Criminals?!" Natsu snapped, "We ain't done nothing!"

"-Besides stage a prison break." Carla mumbled under her breath,

"Yeah, and we break lots of stuff all the time too!" Happy chipped in,

"You're not helping!" Lucy hissed,

"You are all criminals." The woman with the paper murmured coolly, "Fairy Tail is notorious for causing trouble, and you are all trespassing here on the King's land."

"But is trespassing really bad enough to be executed over?" Carla grumbled lowly, the woman blinked.

"Yeah! I mean I know Natsu breaks a lot of stuff and we aren't supposed to be here, but killing us seems overboard!" Happy trilled, "I haven't ever done anything really bad, and neither have Carla or Wendy, or Yukino or even Hora!"

"You are all guilty of sin, do not attempt to deny it." The scythe guy murmured, his eyes flicking among them all from under the shadow of his hood and landing on Hora last- cold and steely and certain, and she stiffened.

Oh I do not like that look...

"You know the weight of sin all too well, Ardendous." He told her lowly, and Hora's jaw snapped shut, her fists clenching harder at her sides and anger sparking in no time at all.

Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me, how many people am I gonna run into that recognize Arden's goddamn Magic?! This is the third person in just a few months!

'... He did do a lot of damage, in his time..' Lixue told her quietly,

Yeah well his time is over damn it! Everybody needs to stop bringing that bastard up!

"... Ardendous...?" Several people, including Yukino, echoed uncertainly, their eyes flicking toward Hora once they realized she was the one being addressed. Even Arcadios looked up, his face twisting in shock and maybe even slight bits of fear- because unlike the Fairy Tailers and Yukino- he had heard that name before, and he knew what evil it spoke of.

"What the hell is that?" Natsu grumbled,

"A true monster." The scythe guy answered before Hora had a chance to, "True sin... a beast that swept through the northern continents, leaving murder and mayhem in it's quake. Hellfire so hot it was icy cold, destroyer of lives and slayer of humans... a monster and demon of which you can only imagine, and one that killed near two thousand people in only five years." He murmured and then everyone stiffened, their hearts skipping a beat and a cold chill falling over them at the words- and they turned their slightly horrified eyes on Hora, as the man dipped his head toward her,

"I recognize those Markings, those flames... you are Ardendous. The Arctic Hellfire."

Hora grit her teeth, all so aware of the looks she was getting from everyone and how quickly the thought crossed their minds; could that-?

"...w..what...?" Wendy stammered,

"... two thousand people...?" Lucy whispered,

"... Arctic... Hellfire...?" Natsu mumbled, his eyes locked to Hora and questioning.

"... there's... there's no way that was you... right Hora...?" Yukino asked quickly, Hora winced a bit, her eyes snapping toward Yukino and the words tearing her heart in half- did she really have to ask that..?!

"No of course not!" Hora hissed quickly with a sharp shake of her head, her eyes glittering and her expression pained for half a second as her voice seemed to break a bit at the end too. Yukino stiffened at it, her hands linking together in front of her and realizing in an instant she should never have asked that, and she hated herself that she had- but she never got a chance to apologize either.

"... then what the hell is he talking about?" Natsu mumbled quietly, and Hora hissed under her breath, her eyes catching his for half a second. He blinked when he saw the hurt in her eyes, and something else too... anger yeah, but there was something darker... deeper.

Hora looked back across toward the Wolves, her eyes locking to the man carrying the scythes and her eyes turning flinty.

"I am not Arden." She growled lowly, her voice loud enough everyone heard it and they flinched a little at how stony her tone was.... but even then there was something else, something hoarse, tense, shaky even that was buried underneath as she shook her head again, and her hands trembled a little from clenching them so tightly. "I know what he was, I know what he did... and you're right, he was a monster." Hora hissed, her eyes flashing. "But I am not him. I am nothing like him." She snapped, shaking her head one more time, and rather stiffly, her fists clenching so hard her whole body trembled, just faintly.

"... tch... he's just the bastard who forced this Magic on me, that's it." Hora muttered sharply, the words aimed toward the man and everyone else behind her, and they flinched a little at how harsh her tone got just then. "But it's my Magic now, and I have never, and will never use it like he did, not a fucking chance...!" She snapped, and raising her head up a little higher, the hurt in her expression turning to nothing but icy cold anger. "So don't you dare call me that again, Arden is gone and I am not him." She told him lowly, her tone borderline dangerous and the man just returned her glare evenly.

"... whether you are the man himself, or just his successor- his sins are yours, as long as that Magic taints your body." He replied evenly and Hora's face darkened further, bits of flame sparking off her shoulders and the Markings on her skin swirled with a worsening fervor. "And for those sins, and all the rest- you will all meet your end here, criminals never escape us."

They all tensed, immediately aware that the conversation was over and they were about to be in a fight- and though they still found themselves wondering about 'Arden' and everything else, they had other things to focus on right then, and couldn't afford to be distracted by their questions.

"Let us go first." The woman with the confetti announced, stepping forward with the other woman in the hat at her shoulder.

"It will be beautiful... A beautiful massacre." The woman in the hat hummed,

"Alright, a little two on two then?" Natsu hissed, stepping forward and slamming his fist against his palm. "I'm getting all fired up!" He smirked, his eyes moving sideways and finding Wendy. "You up for a little action, huh Wendy?" The small Dragon Slayer blinked in surprise, before nodding firmly.

"Yes...!" She answered, Hora blinked, her head tilting and catching Natsu's eye from the side.

"What the hell am I, chopped liver?" She muttered, and he shook his head.

"No, but I'd rather you keep an eye on Lucy and Yukino." He replied easily, and she paused. "They don't have their keys, and you guys can keep an eye on that Arcadios guy too." He added with a glance back at the Celestial Wizards and the Colonel, earning stiff nods from the girls and Hora bit the inside of her cheek. Because it made sense, they didn't have their Keys, they were at a bit of a disadvantage maybe... but she had the distinct feeling him not choosing her to fight right then was more because of how angry she had gotten at mention of 'Ardendous'. And she would be right- Natsu saw the rage in Hora, and he knew it could get out of hand... and he trusted her not to, but he knew it was hard to keep herself in line too, and she wasn't exactly in the best shape to be fighting anyone (let alone herself) anyway.

He couldn't say that so bluntly though, lest she get annoyed at it- so he didn't, and instead he gave her a more rational reason to stay back for now.

"Plus you already tossed tubby around a bit ago, it's our turn to lay into them." He finished, adding that last bit in for good measure and tilting his head toward the large man that had attacked them first- and subsequently had been thrown by Hora's Guardian Circle Spell (who of which scowled at 'tubby' comment). Hora bit the inside of her cheeks, hesitating for a few seconds more, holding the pinkette level in her stare, before nodding slightly.

'... probably wiser you not expend too much Magic anyway.' Lixue commented lightly, though she ignored him.

"Fine." She grumbled a little sourly, and Natsu smirked, but let it be at that. Mirajane and PantherLily stepped up as Hora stepped back and joined Lucy and Yukino, who had already bent down and were supporting Arcadios between them.

"We'll back you up." Mirajane told Natsu and Wendy, PantherLily nodding in affirmation as the pinkette nodded back.

"Great, let's go Wendy." Natsu grinned, and Wendy nodded, shifting into a defensive stance.

"I'm right behind you." The little Dragon Slayer told him, and then they were off and jumping straight into the fight with little hesitation, to absolutely none at all. PantherLily and Mirajane moved forward a little more, shifting themselves into something of a defensive line between Hora, Lucy, Yukino and Arcadios- while Hora planted herself in front of the latter three once they had backed off a little in a same sort of defensive position.

Hora stood in utter silence, ever aware of the three behind her though she never looked back, as her eyes stayed locked on to the clash of fire, air, paper and plant going on ahead of her as Wendy and Natsu fought with the two woman among the Knights. Even despite the dire warning of them being the king's 'ultimate' executioners or whatever, she didn't really worry that Wendy and Natsu couldn't take them on and do fine... she could tell all of the Knights had no small amount of Magic Power, she could feel it coming off of them in a steady wave... but even still, Natsu was a powerhouse in his own right, and Wendy was a lot more capable than her small frame might suggest. She'd proven that in her fight against Sherria in the GMG.

Hora crossed her arms over her chest and grit her teeth anyway, though mostly as lasting agitation from Arden being brought up, and being told she was still responsible for all his sins and the terrible shit he had done... tch, I had nothing to do with any of that damn it.

Just because I have the same Magic does not make me him, or even make it okay to compare me to him. I am nothing like that asshole... I don't go around killing people, not even the ones that might deserve it.

Her fingers dug into her arms as she growled, shutting her eyes tight for a few moments and willing her anger to simmer down... she could feel the heat of the Markings on her skin still persistent, and that was fine, just as long as didn't lose every bit of her cool.

But what pissed her off even more was that any of that shit about Arden got brought up now- in front of everyone. All the terrible shit, the accusation, the thing about having his Magic... she didn't want to talk about that, or explain it all that much (though she knew eventually she would have too...), and she didn't want to do it right now. She hated she'd been forced into it at all.

She stiffened a little though, her thoughts flashing back to the looks they had all had, the questions clear on their faces- the fear that it might be true... Yukino having to ask if it was.

There was another ache in her chest that was near as painful as what she'd earned trying to use Lixue's Magic earlier, and her shoulders hunched despite herself.

... I know I get really worked up sometimes... and sometimes even enough that I might go over the edge... she's seen it, like back a few days ago when I found out she got kicked out of SaberTooth... how angry I was, and how much I meant it when I said I wanted to make Jiemma pay... but...

Her eyes opened halfway, shifting to the side a bit but never turning her head to look back at the Celestial Mages behind her.

... I can't be surprised she would ask that... I got so angry I burned her hands... and I did the same thing with Rogue... and I've been keeping everything a secret for so long... of course it makes sense... she'd doubt me... I just...

She shut her eyes again and grimaced, biting back at the sting forming behind her eyes.

'... you'd hoped she'd never doubt you enough, that she would think you capable of such cruelty... as much cruelty as what Arden did.' Lixue finished for her, and she swallowed, holding her breath against it.

...s... shit... I don't mean to be so...

'... the Celestial Mage is your friend, Horatia.' Lixue reminded gently, 'Do not be so quick to think she sees you in such a bad light. She is your friend and despite everything, she sees you for your true self and heart... you are not Arden, and she knows you are not a monster, despite your temper, or your mistakes.'

She wanted to believe him, she sort of did, she figured Yukino had probably only asked out of confusion and shock, not out of being accusatory or anything... but still, Yukino asking that question?

It still hurt... and it still brought up all those years of fears and doubts of herself, and her own thoughts and seeing herself as nothing but a monster as bad as the one that came before her.

Yukino's eyes glittered, her attention locked to Hora in front of her instead of watching the fight Natsu and Wendy were involved in. She heard the commotion and was aware of it, and Lucy and Arcadios beside her- but all of that seemed rather dulled as she kept her eyes on Hora's back, her eyes tracing across the ridge of her shoulders and to the icy blue SaberTooth Guild Mark on her shoulderblade... and she saw Hora hunch a little, her posture nothing but rigid and tense, and Yukino felt her stomach churn.

Yukino's eyes dropped to the floor, her brow's knitting together as she bit the inside of her cheeks against the knot quickly getting bigger in her core, as the look on Hora's face kept flashing on repeat in her head.

.:+:.

"No of course not!" Hora hissed quickly with a sharp shake of her head, her eyes glittering and her expression pained for half a second as her voice seemed to break a bit at the end too.

.:+:.

"... Hora..." Yukino started softly, and Hora stiffened at the sound of her name, her head slowly turning just enough to catch Yukino's eyes from the side. Yukino paused, her eyes shining and her face twisted slightly, guilty and Hora blinked, "... I... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have..." Yukino mumbled, but for some reason the words wouldn't come out all the way and Lucy cast the blue-haired girl a sympathetic look, her own heart twisting as Yukino seemed to struggle for the apology.

"... I didn't mean..." Yukino whispered, her voice giving out on her as her eyes dropped away from Hora altogether and she hung her head a bit too. Hora stiffened, her lips pulling into a tight line and her eyes flashing as Yukino's head bowed, and the Celestial Wizard trembled, just faintly, her voice shaking too.

Hora looked away, swallowing back the lump in her throat and nodding, just once.

"... I... know..." She mumbled quietly, and Yukino stiffened at the answer, her eyes quickly raising again only to find Hora had turned her back again.

"... I know... it just... the whole Arden thing... it's not... it's a really sore subject..." Hora mumbled quietly, "... I know... you... just... just leave it be... okay...?" Hora asked, her voice dropping to something just short of a whisper, and Yukino felt her heart twist painfully at it, her eyes flashing. She took a half-step forward toward Hora, intent on just... well, apologizing again, because the first clearly hadn't done much at all- she could tell Hora was still hurt about it, but she never got that far.

Something happened, her body halted despite her wanting it to move, and she found herself suddenly paralyzed as a rush of purple paper suddenly flew at them all from somewhere up ahead in a great, huge storm. The paper stuck fast and hard to their bodies, and Hora was too wrapped up in her own head and her aching soul to even realize anything was coming- and by then it was much too late, everyone was covered in purple paper and not a single one of them could move an inch, no matter how hard they tried.

What the hell is...?!

"Purple is the spirit of confinement." The woman with the confetti paper murmured lightly, apparently gaining a swift and decisive upperhand in the fight against Wendy and Natsu- which until just about then, the two Dragon Slayers had been doing quite well. "It was quite interesting to see you two dance, but we won't waste anymore time on you." She smiled placidly, while the woman in the hat at her side chuckled, her hands raising in air before her as the air trembled and slit apart- a massive stalk and flower springing up from the earth and opening it's petals wide... the center of it a gaping hole with what looked like teeth.

Teeth

... is that some kind of... carnivorous plant...?!

Hora's heart skipped a beat, her pulse quickening into a panicked tenor as the plant swayed, and then suddenly the air shifted, and it began to suck everything in toward itself- the air, the debris, and them.

She hissed, her feet already leaving the floor and sent spiraling into the air- Lucy, Yukino and Arcadios behind her as her mind whirled, desperately trying to get her body to move and yet it still refused with those purple papers sticking to her.

"Wendy...!" Natsu snapped, his eyes finding the young girl as they all quickly got sucked closer and closer to the gaping plant.

"Y-yes..!" Wendy answered, her eyes scrunching closed in concentration as her hands glowed, green light flowing off of her and then surrounding everyone else. "Enchantment, Dispel!"

The purple paper sticking to their bodies shredded in a powerful gust of wind circling around each of them, Wendy negating the effects of the Paper Magic and allowing them to move- though they were all still being pulled and buffeted by the vacuum created by the plant.

"Waah, we're still getting sucked in!" Happy cried,

"W-What do we do..!?" Wendy yelled,

"Destroy the plant!" Natsu snapped, already twisting himself around in air and flames springing up off his body in... massive amounts.

Hora tensed, her eyes going wide her hand darting forward toward Natsu out of instinct, though he was much too far from her, and her heart skipped a beat in panic.

"Wait a minute Salamander, if you send off too big a burst you're gonna-!" She called to him quickly, but it was much, much too late.

His flames slammed against the open maw of the plant with a deafening boom, the plant screeching and the vacuum it had created expanding quickly with all the heat- and sending out a devastating wave of pressure and force.

"-blow everything up...!" Hora hissed, but there was no way anyone could have heard her then. Not with the explosion that washed out, knocking every single one of them back and shaking the cavern to it's core, the floor, the walls, everything- all of it torn open and rubble flying in every direction.

S-Shit!

She had no traction, she was still in midair, and she only caught a fleeting glance of Yukino and Lucy before she was slammed backward by a wash of air, and her body rammed into, and fell through an already crumbling section of the cavern. Light got swallowed by black in three seconds time, and she was falling- for way too long. She was too winded from her impact with the stone that her body had opened the hole int, and the side of her head smacking painfully into a slab of stone.

Specks of blood fell up into the air above her, glittering in the little light that was quickly fading from the hole that was getting tinier by the second, before being swallowed up completely and then... nothing but darkness.

.... c.. rap... none of this... went right...

... so much... for the plan...

.... why... can't anything ever go... right...?


Hello!

Here we are with another update, and a pretty long one too! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one will have even more juicy action bits- and THE BIG REVEAL!

Lol not that big reveal. So sorry, but you'll have to wait a little while longer for dear big brother Gray to be 'reunited' with 'lil sis.

But there will be some badass Magic skills flaunted by Hora in the next chapter, that I can assure you. And maybe some more blanks to fill in on Lixue and his Magic? XD

Anyway, thank you for sticking with me so long! I know I am very slow to update all of my stories, but I do appreciate your continued support!

Ah, and another thing- I have set up a Ko-fi! If you really like my stuff and feel like buying me a coffee, I would very much appreciate it! The link to it is on my profile bio!