Being knocked unconscious was not a common thing for me... At least, it hadn't been for a good couple of years.

Sure, when my mentors were training me, sessions wouldn't end until I was forced unconscious on the training room floor, but they up and vanished, and I didn't train myself to the point of wanting to die anymore. It was a good tradeoff.

The nostalgia this whole situation brought would have been refreshing if... Well... If it were a memory I enjoyed.

It wasn't. To be honest, it was one of the worst parts of being human.

I didn't care if splitting headaches were normal after passing out and hitting my head on a rock, they sucked, and I just wanted to fling myself off the top of a building.

Speaking of which, the more consciousness returned to me, the more I was able to tell that my situation wasn't great. I could vaguely feel chains around my wrists and wrapping tightly along my legs too, which kinda hurt. The hard chair pressing into my back didn't help things very much.

If I was allowed to get up again, I would be stiffer than the chair I was forced against.

My movement had been severely limited, which I didn't blame the group for, I probably would have judged them if they didn't bind me so tightly. But that also meant that I couldn't get out of the way for the sunshine that was hitting my face, forcing me to be conscious.

Damnit... This is why I lived underground like the hermit I was.

Stupid sun.

A groan burst from me as I weakly struggled against my chains, wanting nothing more than to rub my eyes to wake up just a bit. What do you get when you combine the sun, a headache, and the night owl Ember Thorn?

A grumpy mess. The grumpy mess that could and would cut a bitch the moment she got out of these damn chains.

"Oh good, you're waking up," A deep voice spoke cheerfully, making me freeze ever so slightly in shock. He sounded... Cheerful? I didn't have much experience with the Magic Council, but I doubted they would sound so polite when talking to a wanted criminal.

My eyes opened eyer so slightly and I squinted against the sun, trying to make out what I was looking at.

"My grandson told me you had a pretty nasty fall, so I can't imagine you're comfortable, but I'm afraid that I don't trust you enough to let you go." Yeah, that made sense, I couldn't blame him for that.

A short shadow that I assumed was the man talking to me moved across the room to the window as I continued squinting.

Should I respond? I didn't know what was going on, so keeping quiet probably would be a better idea. I had a thousand and one questions, but they could wait.

Mercifully, the sunlight was cut off abruptly as a curtain fell over it and for the first time I was able to see the room as well as the old man who was gently staring at me... It was far too gentle for a violent person like me.

The room itself was happy. Hand-drawn pictures were covering the walls that were drawn by children. Not a single one of those pictures were masterpieces, to be sure, but rather stick figures and blobs that perhaps were supposed to be people. Maybe? A bookcase took up one entire wall, and instead of books, the shelves were covered in photos. One or two had those kids from the mission, but I didn't recognize any of the others.

It showed so many happy moments, even if none of them held the old man who was standing in front of me.

He was short. And that was an understatement because I wasn't a super tall kid, and he was probably half my height.

It was all so welcoming that I knew immediately that this wasn't the magic council... I wasn't in front of some court who would kill me... I was in the office of some grandpa who looked ready to give me a stern talking to.

Though, I shouldn't say that's all he felt like. There was an aura of power about him that put me on edge. I had a feeling that if he wanted too, this decrepit old man could mess me up.

For a moment neither of us said anything. I was too busy watching him and I felt like he was doing the same thing to me. It was nerve-wracking, but if I was wrong for some reason, and I was about to go to the gallows, then I was going to flip the world off as I went, so there would be no breaking down for me.

Though I needed answers, and I could only get so many from glaring at him, "Why'm I here?" I asked, my voice not as intimidating as I hoped it would be.

He chuckled ever so slightly, which made the anger stirring in my gut flair just a little, "I don't know," His voice was teasing and I could feel my teeth grit, so he wanted to be a butthead about it, did he?

The twinkle in his eye told a story of someone who laughed a lot, "Do you mean why are you here, as in, why are you in my office, or why are you in this situation at all?"

If my hands weren't shackled, I probably would have jumped across the room just to punch him in his stupid, smug jaw.

Instead of doing that, I took the deepest breath I could against the pain that I hadn't realized was in my ribs, "Why I'm in this room, dipshit." I growled, noting with some pride the surprise that flashed across his face, "I'm guessing that group told you who I was, so why aren't I in prison or getting ready to hang or whatever those council idiots want to do with me?"

The old man contemplated me for a good few moments, his eyes were much more guarded then they had been before, "Do you want to be facing the Magic Council right now?" He asked, his voice soft.

It was my turn to be surprised at that. Where was he going with that?

"Laxus was more than happy to send you off to prison, I'll admit, but I asked him to bring you here." He said walking around his desk to the bookshelf and looking at it carefully, "If you really are the Ghost of Fiore, the Council won't show any mercy, and I can't do that to a child in good conscience... Not without talking to them first."

Oh, so that was it. He wasn't to make himself feel better about condemning a child. It all made sense.

No doubt he was trying to plead to my humanity and get a slice of my past out of me so he could have a reason to 'save' me, but I wasn't having it. There were other ways he could stroke his ego, I wouldn't be a charity case for him.

My chains rattled as I rolled my shoulders, trying to get some of the kinks out, "What's there to talk about?" I asked keeping my voice as bored as I could. He wanted a reason, I'd give him nothing, "I've killed lots of people, old man, and been paid for it too. Hell, even the assassination guilds are too scared to me to try shit against me."

His eyes narrowed, but I wasn't done. A sadistic smile grew on my face as I leaned forward as much as I could, "You want to give a kid like me a second chance? Prove I can be reformed?"

"Give up now, it would be better for everyone."

Shock bloomed in his eyes and I felt a moment of victory, even if it was hollow. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to let me have my moment, "The way you speak... The look in your eyes... They remind me of someone three times your age. What happened to you that might cause this?" He asked though I kept my mouth shut. It felt like more of a rhetorical question than anything.

True. I didn't act much like a child, but I had my reasons. The world wasn't kind to children in my position.

"It's interesting. Ever since Laxus told me about his run-in with you, I've been going through any available information on the infamous 'Ghost of Fiore,' which was surprisingly difficult." He said, beginning to pace in front of me, "Despite how notorious you are, there is next to no information about you. You kill, then you vanish leaving a signal in the sky as your only calling card."

Wow. It took my many years of schooling my emotions to stop the eye roll that wanted to take over. Thanks for the status report, Captain Obvious.

Oh, but wait, there was more. Even though I made it obvious that I didn't care, the old man wasn't done. No, he was currently trying to wear a hole in the carpet as he paced, venting to me about me. It was an odd experience.

"Even Freed couldn't pin down anything solid about you. I can't even be sure that you are the Ghost of Fiore as you claim, because the only consistent thing across the myths was how precise you are. Only one person at a time was ever killed, and the way you were so close to escaping Laxus and his team supports that."

With that, he stopped pacing and stared straight at me, analyzing me as I sat there with the most bored look I could conjure on my face, "Freed mentioned, quite emphatically, that there were several chances for you to kill them, both as you fought, and in earlier moments... May I ask why you spared them?"

I didn't want to answer this. This old man was probing in places he shouldn't... But something told me that if I didn't, he would keep me here forever until he got the answers he wanted.

My head hung as I tried again to take some of the pressure off my abused shoulders, "Why would I kill them if I wasn't being paid to do so?" To me, this was a no-brainer and the truth, even if it wasn't all of it.

"I don't believe that." The old man said quickly, jumping in over me, "From what I could tell, a part of the reason you're so scary is because you only killed one person, that a highly-skilled bodyguard team would wake up in the morning and someone would be dead. No one would notice you, even if your target was in the same room as them."

"So why didn't you kill them?" His eyes were deadly serious and that feeling of intimidation was back... You know, the one where I knew he could wreck me if he wanted to?

"If you had just killed my grandson and his team, you would have gotten away."

Damn, this man was persistent. I guess a little more wouldn't hurt, "A trail of bodies shows a sloppy assassin." I muttered, repeating the words that ran through my head daily.

There was a good reason my mentors always told me this, because whether you're a thief or an assassin, the principle remains the same, "Do you really think I would be free still if I massacred everyone who got in my way?" I asked, glowering up at the old man, "The more I killed, the more attention people in power give me, and the more resources they send to catching me. I made it so I wasn't a priority to them, and they let me become little more than a scary story."

I watched with some satisfaction as the blood drained from the old man's face. Good, he was scared of me. Perhaps now we'd be able to get past this façade and he could just send me to the Magic Council.

He muttered something under his breath before forcing himself to turn away from me, though I noted with some pleasure that his spine was ramrod straight. "You can come in now." His voice raised ever so slightly as he walked back to his desk and I rolled my eyes.

I thought I sensed people out in the hallway. This was about to turn into a real fucking party, wasn't it?

Four familiar presences entered the room and my eye roll increased in intensity. Just great.

"They told me that your name is Ember Thorn. Is that correct?" He asked and I nodded, not seeing a reason to lie about that.

Several glowers were aimed at the back of my head, and I glanced at the Spark Plug, who seemed to be trying to kill me with his stare. No doubt his ego was wounded from our fight. Slowly, I allowed a sweet smile to grow on my face and laughed inwardly as lightning started to crackle around him.

When your about to die, you've got to take find pleasure where you can get it.

The old man must have noticed what was happening, because he sighed heavily and cleared his throat, bringing our attention back to him, "After speaking with Miss Thorn, I've considered the options and come to a conclusion." He said carefully, looking as though he was proclaiming the fate of the world.

"Out with it, Old Man," Spark Plug interrupted the old man- I was assuming this was the grandson the old man mentioned several times- impatiently as he folded his arms, "We ain't got all day."

The Grasshead laid a hand on Spark Plug's arm, which almost immediately settled the volatile blond down... Interesting. There was respect between this team.

A tick mark appeared on the old man's forehead, "Don't interrupt me, you brat!" He yelled before pinching the bridge of his nose to calm himself, "As I was saying, I've decided that Miss Thorn will pay for her crimes by becoming a member of Fairy Tail and joining your team." The whole froze, including me.

I had been so set on dying at the hands of an irritating Council that I didn't even consider the idea that I would be offered a plea bargain.

"You will guide her and help her grow so she can become a productive, non-violent member of society!" He looked so proud of himself that I knew he didn't recognize the fact that all of our faces had paled as we stared at him

Was he supremely cocky, or just stupid? I was genuinely scared to ask.

I wasn't the only one concerned by this, as the room exploded with objections from the team.

"Why the fuck would we let her on our team?" Good question.

"What makes you think we can trust her?!" Also a good question, I was wondering the same thing.

"She tried to kill us!" Valid point. I wouldn't trust me either.

.

.

.

"But she didn't."

This came from the Grasshead, who was looking at the ground with furrowed brows. The room silenced as everyone looked at him. "Ember?" He asked, his voice loud against the stunned silence, "How long were you watching us?"

Where was he going with this? Was he actually sticking up for me?

My mouth opened and shut several times as I blinked dazedly at Grass Head, "Um... About a week?"

This seemed to be news to the group and I winced. Shit, now they were all going to think I had a conscience.

"And how many times could you have killed us in that time?" He brushed his hair out of his face as I thought about it.

Honestly, I had no clue. I was too focused on watching them so I could get around them later. The idea of killing them only crossed my mind when we were fighting, and even then it was brushed off quickly. "A lot." I said dismissively, not even trying to count.

The Grasshead nodded, as though he expected my answer, "I don't fully understand why you want her to be on our team specifically, but I can see why you're so keen to give her a chance. I support your decision, Master." He bowed to the old man, casting a quick look at the others in his team.

Sure, the Spark Plug was obviously the leader, but even though I couldn't see the other two's faces, I could feel a begrudging acceptance from them. It was so far removed from every other experience I had seen in my life with teams that I was taken aback by it.

Well, if these guys were just going to blindly accept the word of the Old Man, then I sure as shit wasn't. I didn't want to be thrown into a team... Especially not some light guild that didn't know the meaning of hardship.

"And what's your plan for if I just choose to leave?" I asked mockingly, "You can't keep me chained up until you decide I've been fixed."

To my surprise, the old man chuckled and walked around his desk to rummage in one of the drawers, "Right you are, Miss Thorn," He said happily, evidently pleased with himself, "But don't worry, unlike what you seem to be thinking, I am not stupid. It took some thinking, but I do believe these should keep you in line."

With that proclamation, he pulled out a box that held a familiar eye on it... I could feel my eye twitching in response to seeing Gavin's symbol, but reacting would only give me away.

The box opened to show an elaborate bracelet with a large red lacrima at the center, as well as several others that were nothing more than metal bands. Each was a different color, and I could feel the energy sparking off the large one in the center.

"These are used by bounty hunters to bring in their targets, I'll place this large one on you, and if you get too far away from the others, it will paralyze you. Laxus and his team will each get one, and I have one as well... Though mine works a bit differently than the rest." He looked far too proud of his solution, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how good of an idea it was.

An ingenious way to take care of the problem I presented. I fought it, but a wave of respect rose in me for this old man.

Not waiting for anyone else to speak, the old man jumped out of his chair and approached me, "Laxus, if you wouldn't mind taking off those chains, we'll finish this up and then go grab some food!"

The Spark plug's reluctance was palpable as he approached me and fiddled with the chains, but I could care less, especially as the weight on my shoulders fell and I was able to stretch for the first time in far too long.

A loud pop echoed through the room as I lifted my arms above my head and arched my back. This was heaven.

With a groan, I stood from my seat ignoring how everyone tensed as I took a step, and moved to crouch in front of the old man. "I don't know why you're putting any faith in me," I said hesitantly, "Either you're crazy, or you can see things I can't... But I'll admit you're the first person who has given me a chance in years."

I willingly stretched out my hand for him to snap the bracelet on as a wry grin played at my lips, "I guess if I had to be caught, Fairy Tail wasn't a bad option."

"Maybe you'll understand one day Ember, but for now, welcome to Fairy Tail."