Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Ultear breathed in and out whilst closing her eyes. Other than being a relaxing pass time, the process allowed her to clear her mind.

"Tomorrow morning. I'll confront her." Ultear said to which everyone shot questionable looks at her for. "By myself."

"But like is that the best idea seeing as you couldn't really control your anger when we saw her." Nashi chimed in, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"You're one to talk about controlling anger, Flame Brain." Storm muttered crossing his arms.

"Oh shut it, Stripper." Nashi shot back glaring at the raven haired boy.

"Both of you cut it out." Hunter snapped. Both teens jumped in their spots from the sharp tone in his voice. "Now is not the time to be fighting."

"Nashi does raise a good point though." Gale said rubbing the back of his neck. He looked up to meet the water mage's eyes. "Ul, without Hunter there... do you really think you could control yourself?"

Ultear hesitated to answer. She really didn't know the answer to that question.

"That doesn't matter." She hissed shaking her head. "What does matter is that I'm the only one who can do this. No one can change that."

"As much as I don't like it, she's right, Gale." Hunter growled under his breath. "She has to resolve this issue by herself."

Gale had a grim look on his face but ultimately nodded his head. "Fine."  He grunted.

"When I say by myself, I mean it." Ultear said sternly. "I don't want the rest of you lurking in the shadows and watching me like a bunch of baby sitters." She looked particularly at Hunter during this remark. "I'll resolve this alone."

And that was what Ultear was doing. Finding a resolution to this problem by herself. This is what landed her alone in the middle of a field right on the outskirts on Magnolia with Alexis Dreyar standing opposite her.

"What do you want and why are you following me?" Alexis questioned tilting her head slightly to the side. "Answer me, Puddle."

"I want to know something." Ultear started, her face as deadpanned as ever. "Why me?"

Alexis furrowed her brow. "Why you what?"

Ultear clenched her fists by her side. "I know you were horrible to everyone... but you were especially cruel to me. So why? Why was that, Alexis?" She snapped angrily.

Alexis stared at Ultear blankly, silent for a second... before bursting in laughter.

"Geez, even in the future, you're as emotional as ever. You're so caught up in the past." Alexis said in between her laughter. She panted wiping a tear from her eye. "Can't you just let it go like a normal person would do?"

"Just answer the question!"

"Why? Do you need closure or something?"

Ultear was silent. That was exactly what she needed at the moment. To get back home, she needed to forgive Alexis and that couldn't happen until Ultear at least understood why she did the things she did.

"Judging by that silence, I'll take that as a yes." Alexis said with an eye roll. "There's really no reason for it." She answered casually with a shrug.

Ultear glared at the blonde haired girl. "You're lying. You always have a reason for the things you do." She said recalling the words Storm had told her earlier. "So tell me why."

Alexis turned her back to Ultear. "I'm done with this conversation..."

WHIP!

A stream of water was now wrapped around Alexis' wrist. She tried to pull against it but Ultear yanks on it hard causing the blonde haired girl to jerk forward.

"You aren't leaving until you answer me." Ultear stated, a low growl generating in the back of her throat.

Alexis chuckled darkly. "Where did this sudden burst of courage come from?" She asked straightening up. "Something tells me you're desperate." The water was still wrapped tightly around her wrist but she chose to ignore it for the time being. "Say...are you still afraid of me?"

Ultear scoffed. "Of course not." 

Alexis pouted mockingly. "Still a bad liar, I see." She said causing Ultear to glare even more fiercely at the blonde haired girl. "I guess terminal weakness can't be helped."

"I hate you so much." Ultear seethed.

"Was that supposed to hurt my feelings?" Alexis asked unfazed by the comment. "If it's an apology you want-"

"I don't want an apology!" Ultear interrupted harshly.

"Well, I'm glad because I didn't want to waste my breath on something as useless as that anyways." Alexis said letting out a sigh of relief. 

Ultear's patience was running awfully low. "I just want to know why you made it your mission to make my life a living hell?!" She snapped angrily.

The arrogant grin that Alexis wore on her face faded. Her expressions darkened and her blonde hair fell past her eyes. "What would you know about... a living hell?" She asked quietly.

 A sudden surge of dark electricity sparked from Alexis' hand where Ultear's water whip still clasped around the blonde haired girl's wrist. Just in time, Ultear ceased the water before the electricity could reach her. A dark magical aura emanated off of Alexis, growing more and more intense by the second. 

"You tormented me to no end." Ultear started, feeling the rage inside her starting to unleash. "There were times where I was afraid to go into the guild because I knew you were there... just waiting to attack me." Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as her emotions ran high. "Even after... after everything... I couldn't even walk into the guild because I was reminded of that constant fear."

"It's not my fault you're a coward." Alexis droned out, still emotionless as ever. 

That was it. 

Ultear had had enough. Anything holding her back from attacking Alexis now became nonexistent. 

"SIERRA!" She screamed. At a speed that challenged that of lightning's, Ultear charged at Alexis with the look of pure fury in her eyes. 

Alexis remained in human form with her feet were planted into the ground; not moving an inch. She raised her hand and tilted her head. "Raijin." She whispered. A stream of dark magic sparking with electricity exited her palm aiming straight at Ultear. 

Ultear quickly changed direction narrowly missing the attack which struck the ground behind her. Alexis' face remained stoic, watching her opponent intently. Ultear took it as her chance and collided straight into the the girl, knocking them both on to the ground. 

Ultear pinned Alexis down as best she could which was a struggle seeing as the girl had now turned into demon. Alexis grunted as she swiped at the water mage with her claws.

CRASH!

Ultear's body smashed into ice shards and the blonde haired girl let out a growling noise. It was an ice clone.

"I learned that from my father." Ultear reappeared, now standing on a fair distance away.  "Water nebula!" The attack - two powerful blasts of water - hit Alexis point blank with colossal force driving her further into the ground. Ultear didn't do it just once... she did it multiple times... again and again until Alexis' body laid in what was now a crater in the Earth. 

When she finally stopped, there was nothing but the sound of her jagged breathing filling the air. She looked to where her target was which was now hidden behind by a plume of dust. Using her forearm, Ultear wiped the sweat from her forehead before beginning to walk towards Alexis. 

She gazed down and saw the blonde haired girl now in demon form, laying flat on her back spread out like an eagle. 

Ultear pinned Alexis down for real this time, gripping the girl's collar in her hands. "Tell. Me. Why." She growled. 

Alexis grinned up at her with a chuckle. "Have you got all your anger out yet, Puddle?"

Ultear extended her arm back before colliding her fist into Alexis' face.  "I..." she punched again. "Hate..." Again. "You." Tears spilled over her cheeks as she delivered another punch. 

Alexis wasn't fighting at all or even putting more than a fraction of her effort into reciprocating the damage Ultear had done to her. It was fact that Ultear had noticed from the beginning but was too blinded by her emotions to acknowledge. Why wasn't she fighting back? Why was she just taking every hit? 

"You're stronger when you're upset." Alexis laughed before spitting out blood. The crimson liquid now trickled down her lip. "I wonder... If you were pushed to the absolute edge, would you kill, Ultear?" She asked tilting her head as she looked up at the water mage. "Would you kill me?" 

The simple four worded question left Ultear silent for a moment and wide eyed. "What sort of a question is that?" She hissed.

"I think you would." Alexis said softly. "That's my reason."

"What do you mean that's your reason?" Ultear questioned. 

"All these years of bullying, taunting and humiliating, they're all leading up to today." Alexis continued wryly. "The day I cast Demon's Torment and you finally put an end to my miserable life."

"W-What?" 

"Hunter would never do it because he's seen me vulnerable unfortunately and actually pities me." She laughed hollowly. "But you... Well - my version of you - I made you hate me with an undying passion. It'd take a while but you'd do it. You'd kill me."

"Are you... are you saying you want to die?... that you're okay with dying?" Ultear breathed out in disbelief. "I-I don't understand."

"Of course, you don't. No one does." Alexis whispered. "But they will soon..." 

Alexis' body flickered purple and all of a sudden, she was in demon from. She clasped onto Ultear's leg and threw her to the side. Alexis got to her feet and took a deep breath.

"If I'm going out, I'm going out with a fight and Ultear..." Alexis glanced at the girl with a smirk. "I'm excited to see how you do it."

"No! Alexis don't!"

"Demon's Torment!"

___________

[somewhere in the forest just outside magnolia]

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with... C." Nashi said as she lazily sat perched up in a tree. 

Gale scratched his head as his eyes travelled throughout his surrounding. "Is it a cat?"

Nashi had a smug look on her face as shook her head. "Nope." She said popping the p.

"I got it! It's the clouds." Storm said hanging upside down from a tree branch. 

"Nuh-uh." Nashi said shaking her head. She looked down to the ground. "Hunter? Do you have one?"

Hunter, who had his back up against a tree and was polishing his sword, shrugged. "Uh... Cloud?"

Nashi's eyes lit up. "Yeah, you got it! Nice one, Hunter!"

Storm fell from his tree and plummeted to the ground with a loud thud. "Hey, Flame Brain! I said clouds first! That's cheating or something." He barked up at her.

Nashi turned her head away from him crossing her arms over her chest. "Didn't hear you say it." She said. "Gale, did you hear him say it?"

The iron dragon slayer sighed. "I really didn't care to listen to what everyone else said." He admitted. "So I wouldn't know."

"See! That means he didn't hear it!" Nashi said with a chuckle as Storm continued to glare up at her. "No one heard you say it."

"Actually, I heard him say it." Hunter interjected.

"Ha! Thank you Hunter!" Storm said breathing out in relief. "You hear that Flame Brain, I won!"

Nashi paled. "Hunter! You were supposed to be on my side while I messed with Stripper." She complained. 

Hunter shook his head. "I don't take sides... especially when it comes to you two nuisances." He corrected. 

Nashi groaned. "How long is Ultear going to take? This is soooo boring." 

"For once, I agree with you." Storm grumbled in response. "I don't think we should've let her go by herself."

"She was pretty adamant about doing this by herself and there's nothing anyone of us could have down about that." Gale said with a sigh.

Hunter continued cleaning his sword until he felt a familiar tremor of magic energy in the ground. It was like a light being switched off. The once bright sunny sky was now as dark as night. 

"Demon's Torment has begun."

___________

every time I see the word closure, I think of chicken little

i had a lot of trouble writing this and I'm semi-fine in how it turned out I guess

its 2am and I'm nearly deceased so like I hoped you enjoyed my 'I'm-legit-half-dead' writing xD

comment what ya'll thought of this chapter as usual

#unedited

LOOK AT THIS CUTE ASS GRUVIA GIF THO