"I really thought I got it into her mind that you guys were her family, that family fights together." Lil felt tears well in her eyes. "I didn't realized what she was really doing until I read a different letter she wrote to me. I came here as fast as I could."

   "You did the right thing," Makarov assured the woman. "You did your best to bring her back to us as well, so thank you."

   "That does sound like something Gabbey would do," Daella spoke softly, her eyes slowly gaining its hardness back. "We have to go after her, now!"

   "El, calm down," Lily tried to sooth, but it came out more like an order. Daella knew what he meant though. "We will."

   "Master, we still do not have a plan," Erza reminded him. 

   "Oh, I know. That's why we must think quickly, Gabbey has already three to four hours on us." Makarov turned slightly towards Mirajane, who was passing beers around to her guildmates. "Mira! Do you happen to have a map?"

   "I'm sure we have one in the back!" Mira replied, quickly scuttling off to the back room. 

   "Hopefully, with an old map, Caister City will be on it." Makarov answered the unasked question. At this, though, Lil straighten up. 

   "Caister City?"

   "Yes, we believe that's where Serpents are, which is where Gabbey is heading." Levy turned towards Lil. 

   "You won't find it on any map," Lil fumbled with her fingers. "But. . ."

   "But?" Gray pressed. 

   "I use to live in Caister City," Lil admitted. "I got out before the incident, but I still remember the way."

   "How do we get there?!" Gajeel exclaimed, whipping his head around so fast it scared them. 

   "Y-You just take the railroad tracks down to Roanoke and head towards the surrounding forest." Lil explained. 

   "Well, lets go them!" Natsu shouted. "I want to kick some butt already!"

He was already marching towards the door before Erza grabbed him by the scarf and yanked him back.

   "Take me with you!" Lil demanded. 

The members of Fairy tail exchanged surprised, not knowing exactly what to say to her request. It wasn't everyday they had someone with no magic wanting to go with them. That, alone, was risky and dangerous. Even so now, since they were up against a dark guild.

   "I-I don't think it's a good idea," Lucy tried to persuade her. 

   "It's probably the best idea you guys could have," Lil stated. "If you go through those woods without a guide to led you, you'll just get lost. I know the way to Caister City like it was the back of my hand. I-It's a full days walk, you've got to take me with you!"

   "What about Yui?" Juvia asked. Lil's gaze turned towards Makarov, who rose an eyebrow. 

   "Could you ask Macao to watch Yui for me? Just for today and tomorrow? He knows who I am, just tell him Lil Conners asked." 

   "If you really think they need a guide."

   "They do. You don't have time to find another guide anyways."

   "Very well," Makarov turned his gaze towards the group of fairies. Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Juvia, Gray, Levy, Wendy, Gajeel, Happy, Pantherlily, Daella, and Carla stared back. "Go find Gabbriel and bring her home."

   "Aye!"

🌹🌹🌹

This was probably, by far, the stupidest thing Gabbriel could have ever done. 

Her red eyes were trained on the city before her, although it wasn't much of a city. Ruins of buildings and streets gave it a creepy vibe, the towering castle behind in just screaming get out of here!

For the smallest moment, Gabbriel felt bad she ruined this once beautiful city, but it was gone when the moment passed. 

About every fifteen minutes, a party of two walked the ruined cobblestone path. They checked the area before disappearing down another street, clearly the look out for the dark guild. 

Lower class individuals. 

With a huff, Gabbey shot herself off of the tree she was hiding in, landing softly on the ground. She didn't give the two men a single second to realize she was there before knocking them out with a hard kick. 

   "I hope you have better mages than this, Chai," Gabbey muttered to herself, dragging the bodies to the middle of the street. Right where the next patrol group would easily see them. 

Easily, they did see. 

As soon as the next two showed up and noticed the two bodies, one of them got into a fighting stance and the other ran back to the castle. Most likely to get more fighters,

   "It would best if you gave up now," The lone figure called out. "We've got some of the best fighters in the world here."

   "I'm sure you do," Gabbey snarked, landing in a crouch behind the random mage. Without a pause, she swept his legs out from underneath and held him to the ground. "But I'm pretty sure I'm the best fighter in history."

The sound of more footsteps could be heard, so Gabbey left the conversation end with a hard punch to his temple. 

   "Glass Ripple!" A very familiar voice cast, making Gabbriel grin as she barrel rolled away from the huge eruption of glass.

   "Imogen! It's been a while," Gabbey mused, turning towards the woman with a scowl on her face. 

   "Not long enough," Imogen responded dryly. Imogen had wispy blonde hair with sharp pink eyes that looked like shattered glass. Gabbey shrugged with her sharp grin still on her face. The two women circled each other for a moment before they charged at the same time. 

A mix of punches and kicks were exchanged, almost too fast for the normal eye to see. Gabbey knew she should be taking out Imogen as quick as possible, but she was having fun. Ever since she's joined Fairy tail, she really hasn't been able to let her frustrations and anger out. 

More footsteps sounded and Gabbey knew that the time for messing around was coming to a fast end. 

Gabbey ducked under Imogen's right hook, straightening out and sending the woman away with a hard kick to her stomach. Not hesitating, Gabbey turned towards the noise of incoming footsteps and took a deep breath. People came into view and Gabbey cast, "Iron Dragon's Roar!" 

The usual tunnel of grey hit the group and sent most of them flying back in shock. 

   "Crystallize!" 

Much to her annoyance, the shattered glass that surrounded Gabbey's feet seem to magnetize to them. Gabbey didn't stop her dragon's roar. Instead, she leaned back as far as she had to and hit Imogen with her spell. The older woman let out a cry of shock before going silent, her head hitting the edge of a falling building. 

Gabbriel hoped she was just unconscious. 

Busting her knuckles open while she did so, Gabbey punched through the cemented glass that held her feet down, rolling out of the way just as a chuck of a house was thrown at her. 

   "Thia," Gabbey acknowledged the man, who only threw another boulder at her. "You're manners haven't gotten better since the last time I saw you."

   "Manners are only for the worthy," Thia grumbled, picking up one of the men that Gabbey knocked out and threw him. Gabbey snorted. 

   "Nice one, but you missed."

   "Who said I was aiming for you?"

Hearing the sound of a sword, Gabbey muttered a quick spell under her breath, made her rose dagger like always, and turned to block the attack. A katana shined in the light, almost blinding Gabbey as she scanned her new attacker. 

The long black hair with dead grey eyes stared at her, the women's expression hidden by a mask. 

It was the same woman who tried to assassinate her. Her black outfit was as sharp as ever and her grey eyes were even sharper. 

   "Hello, again," Gabbey greeted with a grin. "Come to finish the job you failed at?"

The woman didn't say a word, simply pressed harder on her sword. Gabbey felt her wrist bend slightly, so she took a moment to shove the woman's katana away and dash towards one of the buildings. 

Just as she got close enough to the ruined house to touch it, a hot, burning blob of magma landed at her feet. She skidded to a stop, just before she could burn her boots. 

   "Bryson."

   "It's time to face your destiny," Bryson snapped. With a deep breath, Gabbey dropped her dagger into the burning substance in front of her. 

   "Facing my destiny, as in facing my could've been assassin?" Gabbey turned, putting both hands out in front of her. "Metal Make: Twin Swords."

Two shiny metal swords appeared in her outstretched hands and she twirled them once. The assassin narrowed her eyes, holding onto her katana with both hands as the two began to circle each other. 

No one dared to step into the molten circle, which Gabbriel noted was circling her and the assassin. It boxed them in, showing that Gabbey had no where to run. 

Not that she was going to anyways. 

The two women paused, as if waiting for each other, before they charged. Although Gabbey had two swords, she had to work more against the katana-wielding woman. She was fast, not as fast as Gabbey, but close enough. The woman knew more about swordmanship than Gabbey did, since the latter usually fought with her fists. 

Gabbey blocked the over-head attack the woman tried to do, thrusting the sword she wasn't using towards her. The woman flipped away, landing in a crouch before charging again. 

The two fought with everything they could. Sweat dripped from each of their foreheads, getting into their eyes and making it harder to fight. But the two of them didn't even pause. Their attacks became sloppier and more aggressive, Gabbey had to back up a little bit since the woman sliced the scar on her nose open. 

Gabbriel was starting to feel tired. As much as she hated to admit it, her arms were screaming in protest when she blocked the next hit. Maybe she should've thought this out more. . .

It was too late now. She had to pull through this and keep chugging. 

Gabbey let out a small battle cry, slashing her swords at the same time at the assassin. The woman blocked but wasn't quick enough to block the kick Gabbey sent to her sternum. Not hesitating anymore, Gabbey tripped the woman over her own two feet, slashing at her face as the woman fell onto her back. 

   "Let's get this over with," Gabbey snarled, pointing the sword at the woman's neck, the mask the woman was wearing falling to pieces around her. 

An icy cold hand gripped Gabbey's heart as she finally got a good look at her attackers face. She felt like she couldn't breath, like all the air got sucked out of her and wasn't making its way back in. 

This couldn't be happening. 

She was dead, she died in Gabbey's own arms. She really couldn't be here. This wasn't her mate, this wasn't--

   "Akemi?" Gabbey breathed out in shock, her grip on her dual swords loosening. 

The assassin, who had the face face as Gabbey's past mate, clearly didn't feel the same emotions that Gabbey was drowning in. 

Because in a quick second, Gabbey was on her back with her swords tossed away from her. Akemi stood over her, with a leveled glare, and a blade sharper than betrayal pointed at Gabbey's throat. 

🌹🌹🌹

Maja was hardly ever surprised anymore. In fact, she hardly felt any emotion at all. 

Her once orange hued eyes that shone like fire has dulled down to embers. Her face rarely moved from its neutral expression unless she was saying something sarcastic, or fighting. Only then would a small semblance of a smile would appear. 

The blood-thirsty grin that stuck to her face until her opponent begged for mercy.  

The now fourteen-year-old was a force to be reckoned with, especially since the two women she looked up to as parents betrayed her trust. 

It was that same day that Maja decided she would build a wall of stone around herself and let no one in ever again. 

Emotionless, sarcastic, emotionally detached from the world around her. 

So it was an uncomfortable surprise to see one of her almost-moms kneeling before her guild master. 

An abundance of emotions filled her like a tidal wave, but all Maja did was stare. 

And curse whatever gods were out there. 

   "So, the great Metarurōzu has finally been caught," Master Chai rasped out, Rebecca by his side like always. 

Maja wouldn't admit it, no one would for they knew better, but Rebecca looked more like a zombie now than ever. Her skin had a slight green tint to it and her skin was so tight that it showed her bones that protruded. The dead look in her eyes were still the same, and forever will be.

   "Shove it up your ass, Chai!" Gabbriel snapped, jerking her body forward, only for Akemi to yank her back to her knees. "What the hell is this?! Is your daughter really putting Akemi's face on some stranger?!"

Master Chai chuckled, shaking his head slowly as he grinned. "This is no illusion, young one. The Akemi you know and love is currently holding you hostage." He paused. "Well, not the exact version of the Akemi you know. . ."

   "What the fuck does that mean??" Gabbriel growled. 

   "It means someone had the power to raise the dead, you stupid bitch!" Master Chai snapped, clearly fed up already. His temper has been getting worse. . . "Me! I raised my granddaughter just as I raised my daughter! Although, with time, they do seem to decay. . ." Master Chai gestured to his daughter. "But, they do exactly what I want them to do! The perfect little puppets."

But Gabbriel stopped listening. Her mind was still trying to wrap around the statement Chai so seemingly said, without a pause. 

   "Your. . .granddaughter?" 

   "Do I have to repeat everything for you?" Master Chai groaned. "Rebecca is my daughter, Akemi is my granddaughter! I'm sure a little bug like you can figure out the rest."

   "If you could bring people back to life, then why are you building that damn machine? Can't you just magick Zeref to life?" Gabbey snapped. 

   "Admittedly, I could do that. But Zeref wouldn't be as great as he once was," Chai gestured towards his daughter and granddaughter. "As you can see, the people I bring to life are more. . .Zombies than anything."

Maja saw Gabbriel's red eyes dart towards Rebecca, Master Chai, and tried to look back at Akemi. Clearly, she was trying to think of what the hell was happening. 

Or, what should've happened.  The white-haired teen rolled her eyes, seeing the realization hit Gabbey like a ton of bricks. 

   "So. . .Akemi was always suppose to show up here?" Gabbriel put together, her words drawling. "The message you sent oh-so-long ago was meant to bring Akemi here. . .But you never expected me."

   "Ding! Ding! Ding!" Master Chai cheered. "We have a winner! Would you like a prize for that?"

   "I really must have ruined your plans then, just by coming along with Akemi." Gabbriel chuckled, seeing Chai's face darken. 

   "Admittedly, yes. You caused way too much problems, it's why I kinda regretted Rebecca making that bond seem so real. If she wasn't so good at her job, maybe you would have stayed at Phantom Lord while Akemi did a solo job. . ."

   "Bond? What bond?" Gabbriel narrowed her eyes, hissing slightly when Akemi yanked her head back by her hair. 

   "You don't know," Master Chai grinned. "Oh, this just makes everything better! My daughter here, Rebecca, is an amazing mage in the illusion category - er, was an amazing mage. When she died giving birth to my granddaughter, I brought her back to life."

   "I don't need your whole life story, you're like a hundred years old anyway!" Gabbriel snapped 

   "Shut up!" Master Chai cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I brought Rebecca back to life. I knew her skills in illusion would be handy for my plans to raise Zeref. What I didn't know, was that her power wasn't just creating illusions, she could strengthen and weaken any bonds others may have for each other. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends. . .Strangers become mates."

A long, unsettling pause filled the room. No one seem to move an inch. Maja was having a small problem of not twitching, fearing that everyone would stare at her. 

   "The hell does that mean?" Gabbriel growled, but her eyes looked like shattering rubies. 

   "Oh, come on now Gabbriel. You're apparently a smart woman! Tell me, you really didn't believe for a moment that Akemi was your real  mate."

So, the end is near. 

If you guys want a Q and A, go ahead and start asking questions from this point on, and I'll answer them when the book is finished. 

But right now, I need to know. . .

Lucy or Levy