(Should I make a playlist for this book? If so, what songs should be in it?)

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    The next day - like Grabbriel had promise - Gajeel, Hiro, John, and Johnny were all woken by the same woman who was leading them around town; Gabbriel. Said girl was skipping in front of them, a small smile on her face. Like always, her gloves were on - but today instead of a dress - she wore a red and black flannel, leggings with her curled hair up in a ponytail. 

    Though it was kinda chilly out - it had rained late last night and the gloomy clouds still hung low in the sky. 

        "I never thought you'd wear a flannel." Gajeel casually threw out. "I didn't even know you owned one."
        "I don't!" Gabbey chirped. "I stole it from some shop. But it's okay - no one saw me!"
    Gajeel sweatdropped, letting out a sigh. "I thought we were on the good side - or whatever."
        "There isn't any rules against stealing. . .I think." She shrugged before looked at the boys that followed her. "Enough of that, today is going to be a fun day!"
        "How so?" John rose an eyebrow. Gabbriel sent a sly smile towards the kids and Gajeel before turning back around. Hiro let out a laugh as he danced around there feet. "Wait, does Hiro even have powers?"
        "Yes, I can feel it from him. But he's only four - so it might be a while before he even is able to summon his power." Gajeel explained, gesturing to the smallest boy out - jumping into every puddle he could. "Alright, we I'm gonna take Johnny here and we're going to head to a shop. Can you handle Hiro and John?"

        "Of course," Gabbey scoffed. "I'm offended. I know how to watch kids."
        "Sure, whatever." Gajeel playfully shoved her away before guiding Johnny away from the trio. "Meet at the cafe by noon, alright? I don't want to hunt people down."

        "Got it!" Gabbey called back and turned towards the bluenette and black-hair child. "Lets out of, troops."
        "Yes ma'am!" The two kids chorused, saluting mockingly. 

    Two clothes stores and a pet shop later, the kids and Gabbey entered the candy shop. "Whoa. . ." The two boys breathed out, before Hiro let out a giggle. 
         "G-G! Can I go get some candy, G-G!!" He chanted. Smiling slightly at her nickname, Gabbriel nodded. 
         "Go ahead, get whatever you want." Hiro let out another giggle before running off down a random isle. "You going to get something?"
        "Can I?" John asked, looking at all the candies the small shop had to offer. 
        "Knock yourself out, kid. " She gestured towards the sweets. John let a grin appear before disappearing down another isle, leaving Gabbey to head towards the chocolate and suckers. Her red eyes lit up as she grabbed some cherry-flavored suckers and a box of chocolate cherries. 

    Red eyes flickered at the brand of cherries - her smile slowly dropping at the memory. 'What the hell are those?'
       'Chocolate covered-cherries! Come on, you'll love them, promise!'
       'If I die because of these. . .'
       'You won't! Regular cherries are better, anyways!'

        "Gabbriel?"
        "Hm?" She jumped slightly, looking down at the two kids. "Yes?"

        "We're done candy-shopping." John pointed out the best he could. 
        "Alrighty then, lets checkout."

    After having a nice chat with the lady that worked there, the trio walked down the sidewalk. The sun was trying to peak out of the shadows, but it was still cloudy. 

        "So, tell me a bit more a out this town." Gabbey demanded gently, sucking on one of the many cherry suckers she had got. "It's not a big as Magnolia, but isn't that small either."
        "Well, I've only lived here for a couple years, but the town is very laid back. There are a few mages around - sometimes a small theft but nothing too bad. Better than what I was raised on. . ." John trailed off into silence.
        "How were you raised?" Gabbriel asked, guiding Hiro - who was happily munching on a candy cane - away from a puddle. When she didn't get an answer, she shrugged. "I can always ask Johnny -"

         "It's none of your business how we were raised!" John snapped out, narrowing his eyes at Gabbey. "You're suppose to be teaching us how to use our magic, but I don't even have a clue what mines is! Come on Hiro, lets go."

         "Guys, come back!" Gabbey let out a small sigh as John grabbed Hiro's hand and ran. "This isn't cool!"

    Before they got too far, Gabbey started chasing after them. "John! We shouldn't run from G-G!" Hiro complained as he tried to keep up. 

    Gabbriel let out a huff of annoyance as John went down an alley-way; the one place that practically leaks bad vibes.  Sure enough, John let out a yelp of surprise as Hiro cried out. "Hold on you two!" As soon as she turned into the alley, a small box of floating letters surrounded her in a trap. "What the hell?"

        "Alright, give us everything you have and these little brats won't get hurt." A weaselly voice sneered from in front of her, a tight hold on both of her kids. 

        "G-G!" Hiro sniffled. 

        "Oh, come on now." Gabbey narrowed her eyes, dropping her bag of candy behind her. "We can have a nice civilized conversation without needing to harm the kids."

        "That's what all you guilders say," A buff guy from the shadows scoffed, pointing towards his neck, where her guild mark would rest. "Acting like they can do anything - but they can't do shit!"
        "Oh yeah? Watch me break out of this cage, you little shit!" Gabbey snarled, rearing back her fist. 
        "I wouldn't do that!" The weasel guy sung out, just a tad bit after Gabbey slammed her fist into the wall. Electricity strung up her arm and zapped her, making her let out a short scream of surprise and stumble back. 

        "What the hell?!"

        "Now start throwing your shit out before I start." He snapped, shoving John to the ground as he held a small knife to Hiro's cheek. "Wouldn't want to scar the poor kid for life, now would we?"
        "Go ahead!" Gabbey rolled her eyes. "They aren't my kids. Why don't you go sell them or something?"

        "Gabbriel!" John shouted in dismay at the idea. He shook lightly as the two thefts seem to accept the idea.

        "Well. . .We could get a lot of money for the young one." The buff one admitted. 
        "The blue haired one seems. . .weak. Lets just bag him, maybe someone will like to take him off our hands." 
         "Naw man, I know someone that would take both of them - and we can get so much money from them."
         "Alright, sounds like a plan."

        "What do we do about the woman?" 
    Weasel man barely even glanced over Gabbey before he responded. "Crush her. If we sell her and she's found - she can point the guilds in our direction."

        "Don't!" John snapped, eyes wide in fear and anger. 
        "Pip down kid." The buff male demanded, snapping his fingers. Almost instantly, the walls started to close in on Gabbey, making her jump up. 
        "Awwwww, shit." She cursed, pushing against one of the walls. "Metal make; Iron beams!"
        "Magic doesn't work in there, sweetie." The weasel commented on Gabbey's confused expression. "Whoops, probably should have said that first. Come on, brats."

    Hiro let out whimper as weasel man shoved him forwards. The taller male reached down to John, but he slapped his hands away and scrambled up. "No!" He snapped, shaking in rage. "I'm not going back there. . .You're not going to take Hiro either! And you're going to let Gabbriel out of that box right now!" 
     The two men glanced at each other and cackled. "Oh yeah, you and what army? What are you going to do about it?"
        "Just leave him alone! And let G-G out of the box!" Hiro exclaimed kicking the weasel man in the shin. 
        "Shit!" He cursed, hopping on a foot to cradle his foot. "That's it! Lets just get rid of them all!"
        "Stop it!" John demanded as the weasel-like man shoved Hiro to the ground - a foot on his back. "You can't so this! Stop it!" 
        "John, focus!" Gabbey snapped from inside the box, the lettered-walls pressing against her shoulders. Her claustrophobia started, making her start to shake lightly. "You have a power, you just have to bring it forward!"

    John nodded and closed his eyes tightly, trying to slow down his breathing. "I-I can't!" He shouted in panic, clenching his hands into fists.  
        "Think about what they're about to do!" Gabbey ordered, trying to press against the walls. "They were going to sell you! They were going to make Hiro suffer like you did! They could have gone to the orphanage and took everyone!" She glanced around, seeing the puddles of water around them waver. "They were going to get your brother !" 

    John's eyes snapped open and in a moment, all the puddles around them had risen. They floated in the air for a second before John let out a cry, causing the water to zoom towards the two thugs. Like needles, they pierced their clothes and skin. Gabbriel let out a sigh of relief as the walls disappeared and ran over to Hiro, covering him with her body. 
        "What the hell!" The weasel man cursed, dashing towards the entrance of the alley. "Lets get out of here!"
        "Go, go, go!" The buff man chanted, following his friend. The spiked water slowed down before dropping to the ground. John panted heavily at the use of his power before letting out a gasp. 

        "I. . .I can control water. . ." He wheezed. 
        "You're brother can control electricity." Gabbriel spoke up, wiping off water droplets from her and helping Hiro up. "That can help both of you."
        "H-How did you know?" John stammered.
        "Twin bond." Gabbriel tapped her head. "I know you and Johnny have one, almost every twin does - especially if they're mages."

    John looked towards the ground before narrowing his eyes. "How did you know about that?"
         "About what?" Gabbey played dumb, not even blinking as John glared up at her. 

         "How did you know what happened to me?! No one but Johnny and Dally know about it! So how could you?" He seethed, the water around them rippling. 
         "Because Gajeel and I set this up." She stated bluntly, making John look at her in surprise. "You weren't going to let your powers go free - so we had to force you too. About your past, it wasn't hard to figure out with those scars on yours and Johnny wrist and ankles - chain scars."

        "Why?" He whispered, tears filling his eyes. "Why would you make me go through that again?"
     Awkwardly, Gabbey crouched down closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Believe me, if there was another way - I would have done it. But we only have two days left with you all - and I promised myself I would teach you all magic. Want to know why?" 
    John nodded into her shoulder, making Gabbey continue. "So you don't have to go through slavery ever again. So Amber doesn't get abused anymore, so Starr can survive without having to steal and lie. So Marx can go through life without thinking he is a monster with different colored eyes." She pulled John back and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I did it because if I didn't - you all wouldn't survive in this cruel, cruel world."

        "G-G is just doing whats best," Hiro murmured from beside them, giving the two of them a hug. "Even if it hurts at first. . ."

    A small silence fell in between the two of them before Gabbriel pulled back with a small smirk. "C'mon. Lets go meet up with our twins. We'll go get the other kids and head to the park; we can even get more candy! How about it?"
    John sniffled, nodding with a small smile. "That sounds good."

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    After going back to the candy shop, picking up everyone at the orphanage, then walking towards the park - Gabbriel was ready for the day to be over with. Marx was sitting on a bench close to the pond, just watching the ducks swim around. John, Johnny, Starr, Amber, and Hiro were all playing tag on the playground while Dally was watching everyone. 
    Gajeel let out a small yawn as he settled next to his sister - throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Am I the only one that wants to sleep?"
        "No, I'm about to pass out." Gabbey agreed, keeping an eye on the kids as she looked around some more. "Did they ever find those two thefts?"
        "Nope," She popped the 'p', narrowing her eyes. "They said the two of them skipped town as soon as possible. I guess John scared them off."
        "Better than what they were going to do. . ." Gajeel muttered, tightening his grip on her shoulder. Gabbriel gave a quick push of their bond in comfort before her red eyes zoomed in on Hanna. The girl sat at the edge of the park - just in front of the tree line. Her lips barely moved, but it was enough for Gabbey to get curious. 

        "I'll be right back." Gabbey patted Gajeel's knee before getting up and slowly making her way towards Hannah. 

        ". . .No way. . .I didn't know that. What else happened?" Hanna's soft whispered reach her ears a couple feet before Gabbey was actually behind her. 

        "Imaginary friend?" She questioned suddenly, making Hanna jump in surprise and whirl around. 
        "Um. . .Not really." Hanna stammered out. Gabbriel gestured to the ground in question, making the younger girl nod slowly. 
        "I had an imaginary friend." Gabbriel started off, sitting down besides the brown-haired girl. "Her name was. . .Akemi. She was really beautiful - she overpowered the stars with her looks." She shook her head slightly. "Anyways, what I was starting with was - its okay to have imaginary friends. Sometimes that is the best."

    Hannah giggled slightly, shaking her head. "Gabbriel, I don't have imaginary friends. . ."
         "Well, why were you talking to yourself then?" She hummed out curiously. 
         "I wasn't. . .I was talking too. . ." Hanna let out a sigh. "Can I just show you? It'll be easier. . ."
         "If you want too." Gabbey soothed, seeing Hanna looked anxiously around. With a deep breath, she turned back towards the trees. Gabbey patiently waited as she cooed out;
        "Come on out Coco - she won't hurt you. Miss Gabbriel is very nice! I promise!"

    It was silent before the leaves on the closest bush shook slightly. A small bird peeked its blue head out - glancing wearily at Gabbriel before hopping over to Hanna. It chirped, making Hannah giggle. "What?" Gabbey asked in confusion. 
        "Blu says 'Hi' - Blu is his name. He also says you're very gorgeous." Hanna translated, making Gabbey tilt her head. 

        "So you can speak to birds?"

        ". . .Not just birds. I can speak to any animals. . ." Hanna trailed off, holding out her hand. Blu skipped into her hand almost instantly, seemingly trusting Hannah. 
        "That's something I've never heard of. . ." When Hanna's eyes darken with sadness, Gabbey smile softly. "But that's good. Tell Blu he's a very handsome bird."

    Hannah's eyes brighten again before she turned back to Blu, repeating what she said. Blu puffed out his white chest and flapped his wings, clearly pleased with the compliment. For the next half hour, Gabbey and Hanna talked with Blu about all the little things. It was when he started flapping his wings quickly that Hannah had told Gabbey he needed to go. 
        "Come visit me in Magnolia sometime, okay? I'll make a birdhouse just for you." Gabbey promised, making Blue chirp happily before flying off. 

    The two girls sat in there spot - watching Blu fly off until they couldn't see him anymore - before Gabbey spoke up. "When did you find out you could talk to animals?"

    The young girl winced slightly and pulled her lips into a thin line. "I. . .It was a difficult time."
        "You don't have to tell me - but I would like to know before I go." Gabbey murmured in a soft voice. Finally, Hanna started. 
        "My parents weren't even my parents - at least I don't view them as that. They were just people that gave birth to me. I was the youngest in my family, out of five. It was fine, for the first couple years - until. . .They just stopped."
    Gabbey rose an eyebrow as Hanna continued. "They just. . .forgot about me. Didn't notice me, didn't feed me. Heck, I could have been murdered in front of them and they could have not noticed. . .I didn't have any friends, so I stuck with animals. I thought it was normal for animals to talk back to you - until a kid in the village saw me talking to a dog and called me a freak. My parents didn't even notice I was getting pushed around for talking to animals. . . One day, I was walking home. I had just gotten done taking some food for me to eat that night. When I arrived at my house. . .No one was there. It was completely vacant. Turns out, my parents had rounded up all my siblings while I was out early in the morning and moved. . .I never saw them again."
        ". . .Is that how you came here?" Gabbey pried gently. Hannah shook her head. 
        "Dally found me - took me to the orphanage. He was earning money by. . ." She paused before continuing. "He was showing off what he could do with magic. He saw me afterwards talking to a couple of cats before taking me in. . .He saved me."

    Gabbey nodded. "And he brought you to the orphanage."
        "My life has been better since." She whispered. Gabbey pulled Hanna close to her, running her hand through the red-heads hair. 

        "Those people aren't you parents - you're right. They aren't even your family. But these group of kids; Hiro, John, Johnny, Starr, Amber, Dally and Marx - they're your family."
        "Gajeel and you too. . ." Hanna muttered softly. "You two started to become apart of our family as well. You're like. . .the adults we never had. . ."
    Gabbriel sat there - slightly shocked. She didn't think Gajeel and her had that much of an effect on the kids here. They were board-line abusive to them in some way - just to get their powers to revel themselves. 

    But Gabbey simply pressed her lips to Hanna's crown and nodded. "You guys are like the kids I never will have. . ."

  🌹 🌹🌹 

    It was close to nighttime when Gabbriel and Dally walked outside of the orphanage. The latter was wearing a black coat to keep the chill at bay while Gabbey roamed around freely in what she wore today, without a jacket. If she was cold, she didn't show it. 
        "So, why did you bring me out before dinner?" Dally asked, looking around as Gabbriel finally stopped. It was a good distance away from the orphanage. 

        "Think fast." She said quickly. In one movement, Gabbriel had summon her dagger, turned around, and threw her weapon as fast and as hard as she could towards Dally. The younger boy took a small intake of air as a solid chunk of rock flew up in the dagger's path. A low thud was heard as the blade sunk half-way into the dirt. 
         ". . .Was I that bad at hiding it?" Dally spoke up as the dirt crumbled to the ground with a wave of his hand. Gabbriel's blade followed, although it disappeared with a flick of her hand. 
          "No. I actually had to have someone point you out before I realized you had powers. . .Didn't expect you to be an Earth bender." 

          "What's that suppose to mean?!"

    Gabbey simply giggled, sending Dally a small smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

          "Yeah, I do. That's why I asked." 
         "You want to tell me?" Gabbey suddenly asked, the air going tight as the light-hearted atmosphere from before disappeared. 
         "What did Hiro say?"
         "Said he could only remember the screams. . .He was only two, so I'm not surprised." Gabbey tilted her head slightly. "Dally. What happened that night, two years ago?"

    Dally clenched his fists together, teeth gritting as he glared off into the distance. "Even. . .Even though they're dead, I still get angry about it." He spat. "And it doesn't get better, but it doesn't get worse. They deserved it!"
        "Dallas." At Gabbey's curt tone, Dally snapped his head to her. Red eyes narrowed onto him and he seemed to get lost in them. "Don't think about how it felt. Just tell the story how its told." The said boy seemed to relax a lot, nodding slowly. 
         ". . .It was two years ago, like you said. Never met my dad, so it was always me. Well, up until my mom got pregnant from a one-night stand. Of course, the father wanted to stay. I had to deal with his drunk, dumb ass for three years. My mom was a hooker - as you could already tell - and a druggie. Any money she got went to drugs, not to me. Not to Hiro after he was born. One night that bitch and her boyfriend got so drunk, they started abusing us. Emotionally, Mentally. . .Physically." Dally's eyes zoned out, remembering what happened. At the last statement, Gabbriel let out a low growl. 

    Knowing it wasn't going to do anything, Gabbey set a cautious hand on Dally's shoulder and helped him get settled to the ground. He just continued on. "They continued the torment for a long time. Up until Hiro was two and I was twelve - just turning thirteen in a month. I was tired of it, I didn't want to be treated like shit anymore - like one of my mother's - that bitches flings. One night, she took it too far. Way to far. . ." Dally swallowed, shaking his head. "I won't go into details. . .Hiro started crying, hard core wailing; and the two of them got irritated. When that bastard smacked Hiro. . .smacked him to the other side of the room. . .I snapped." A grim smile. 

        "I crushed them with the rocks beneath the house, boulders the size of elephants crushed their legs while their upper bodies were left for their screams of pain. I didn't stop until they stopped crying. . ."
        "Dally. . ." Gabbriel cooed in a soft voice, wiping a stray tear off his face. Dally flinched at the contact. "Shh. . .You're safe now. They're gone."

        "Then why does it feel like they're still here?" He sobbed out. Gabbey hesitantly brought him close, letting him collapse onto her and sob. "I don't regret it. . .Why am I crying?"

        "Because she was your mother. . ." She ran a hand through his hair, trying her best to comfort him. "You may have not liked her, but she was still your mother. Don't worry, nothing like that will happen to you ever again. You or Hiro. I may be in Magnolia, but send the word and Gajeel and I will run our asses off to you guys."

    Dally sniffled, rubbing his eyes. "I. . .I was going to, uh. . .Join Phantom Lord. I heard you do. . .did. . ."
        "I'm glad you came here instead," Gabbey whispered. "Phantom Lord was - IS - not the right place for you or your brother. No dark guild is."
         "Then why did you join?" Dally looked up. Gabbey hesitated, hearing the same voice from earlier rang in her ears. 

      'Hi! I'm new here, you think you can help me out?'
       "Because I didn't have anyone to guide me and my brother." She murmured, looking down at Dally. "But you do."

     Gabbriel got up slowly, giving Dally enough time to move, before holding a hand out. "You can chose. You can either continue down this path, and somehow, someway, end up in the darkness that took me or. . .You can take my hand, and for the final days my twin and I are here - I will help you in every way possible so you can move towards the light."
     Dally stared at her hand, glancing up at her in confusion before chuckling, wiping his face of remanding tears. "God, that was so cheesy."

        "Shut up!" Gabbey scoffed, shaking her hand. "I'm new at this 'Good Guy' stuff, so just take my hand already! I'm getting tired and hungry. Do you want to move forwards or not?"

    Dark brown eyes met glowing red; one had a soft glow and the other harden over time. But they both held wisdom. So, with a laugh, Dally grabbed her hand and pulled himself up with the help of Gabbey. "Yeah, I'll move forwards."