I think the old man was hoping that I would get back within the next two or three days to talk to him about the magic council, but that just didn't end up happening. It took me a full week and a half to get back to the guild after the whole Phantom Lord incident. The first day was me finishing my mission to take out some monsters (That hurt like hell, let me tell you... Internal damage is real boys and girls), and after that, I went back home and slept for a good three days straight.

After my mini coma, I contacted Evergreen, who seemed to be close to murdering me at that point, and took her on an impromptu shopping trip to Gavin's, who was absolutely ecstatic to have her back in the shop... Creepy is a major understatement when it comes to him at times; when we were teenagers, it was weird, now that we were legal adults, it was somehow worse.

Anyways, the main reason it took me so long to get back to Magnolia was the fact that I needed to check out the popular gossip spots for news about the Ghost of Fiore. If news about me still being around got out, any form of a cover-up job would be exponentially harder, and gossip was the best way to find anything out half the time. Sure, at best, you would have to throw out half the rumor due to exaggeration, but it was amazing how reliable gossip was, and I knew the most ruthless gossip hotspots.

After a week of jumping between different locations with no news, I knew I was pretty much in the clear. Any information about me had been well contained, which was a bit of a miracle, all things considered. 

It was a busy week and a half, not at all the vacation from stress I had been hoping for, though there certainly was a few moments that I was able to de-stress. My favorite of which was the time when a few bandits decided that I would be an easy paycheck. Beating the shit out of them was great, especially after fighting so many high tiered mages; between Jose, Aria, and the entirety of Phantom Lord's guild, there had been a lot of strenuous fights, so this was downright therapeutic.

Seeing that hopeless look, the one that showed they realized just how badly they had messed up by picking me as a target, was a look I loved. It was just so much fun to rub their newfound realization in by knocking out some teeth.

Sadism aside, nothing major happened the rest of my time away, I was either passed out or working, so by the time I got back to the guild, I was already exhausted again.

Seeing the guild the way it was, a huge skeleton that was far bigger than I remembered the original building being, was shocking. The original building was gone, replaced by framing that showed what would be a truly huge building.

The old man must have taken the opportunity presented when the guild hall was trashed to expand, which made me chuckle. He was ever the opportunist, though, I was a bit more surprised at who I found inside the skeletal guild hall than I was by the hall itself. You see, I knew a lot about the people I had grown up with, and while they certainly visited the guild more than I did, Laxus especially never mixed well with those he viewed as 'below' him...

Prejudiced hog.

As I listened to Laxus insult the other members of the guild, I carefully climbed into the wooden framework so I wouldn't be noticed. Not that I really cared... Well, I mean, I cared, but I just had some things to say to the idiotic spark plug before he left without eavesdroppers listening in. I honestly doubted he would stay too much longer, seeing as there was nowhere he could go that allowed him to lord above the plebeians.

He really wanted to prove my point, because only a few seconds of me thinking that, he swept out of the common area with a flourish, passing under my little nest, "You know," I called out calmly, causing Laxus' shoulders to tense up, "Usually I get a kick out of your whole superiority act, it's hilarious normally, but today the ignorance is just painful to watch... You should really work on that."

"Shut up, coal head, I'm just calling the situation as I see it." He growled at me, allowing me to get a good side view of his fangs. 

I scoffed, jumping down from my perch and landing lithely in front of him, "As you see what? You weren't here to see anything, which means that anything you say about the whole ordeal is immediately deemed to be stupid and discarded without further thought." Ah, the irritation was welling up inside of him, what fun. 

"You're just angry that they were able to defeat the enemy without you, which means that they're actually powerful, which, in turn, means that you might actually have to respect them!" I gasped lightly and placed my hands on my cheeks, "My goodness! The angstiest of Spark Plugs might have to respect someone besides himself?! The world must be ending!"

Before I could blink my eyes, Laxus had pinned me up against the nearest piece of framing and was glaring at me menacingly, "Shut up coal head, I mean it. Those idiots aren't strong enough to compete with me and they never will be."

If looks could kill, then we would have died when we first met and now our ghosts would be killing each other again for the millionth time.

Laxus was incredibly fast, he always had been, that combined with his strength made him a formidable opponent, but there was something he forgot; I was his equal. In less time than it had taken for him to pin me against the boards, I broke free from his grip and appeared on his back, a hidden knife perched delicately at his throat, "Well that's ironic then, because the members of this guild may be physically weak, but their devotion and love for each other make them strong, while your arrogance and refusal to look past the surface makes you one of the weakest members of the guild."

My voice was no longer cheerful and mocking, but ice cold and threatening. Laxus threw me from his shoulders, leaving himself with a razor-thin cut across his throat, too shallow to do any harm, "You bitch," He said, rolling his shoulders as he prepared to charge at me, "I think it's been too long since we've fought, you seem to have forgotten your place."

By this time, I forgot to care about the other members of the guild hearing us as I threw back my head and laughed out loud, "I agree, it's been too long, I mean, you seem to have forgotten that last time we fought neither of us won, but hey, I'd be more then happy to refresh your memory of that black eye I gave you."

The tension in the air was so thick that I probably could have cut it with my knife it I had wanted too, but thankfully, it didn't come to that. I knew that a pair of eyes were watching us and while I would've loved to give them a show, they woke me up slightly so I could remember the fact that the guild was indeed very fragile right now. The last thing they needed was for me to get in a major fight with a literal spark plug... After all, if there was one thing that Fairy Tail was known for, it was their destructive capabilities.

It took effort, but I was able to force my body to leave it's battle ready position, muscles loosened and I stood straight, rolling my shoulders slightly as I turned away from the spark plug.

"Wait a minute, are you an idiot?" Laxus barked out, agitation showing not just through his tone but also the streaks of electricity that were passing me intermittently, "You just challenged me to a fight, do you really think I'll just let you walk away?"

You know, Laxus really could be smart when he wanted to be, he had all earmarks of a great leader, but at the same time, he was also one of the dumbest people I knew... "Use your eyes dip shit," It wasn't intended, but I doubted that I could have made my voice more condescending if I had tried, "We're surrounded by wood, people, and other things that would be incredibly easy to break, do you really think fighting right now would be a good idea?"

His silence was all the conformation I needed, I continued walking towards the tent that had been set up for the old man's office, "Don't worry, I'm more than willing to fight you next time we meet," I looked over my shoulder at him and allowed malice to fill my expression as I looked at him, "I expect a good fight, since you've been talking so much shit lately, my standards are high, and I would hate to be... disappointed."

Perhaps I pushed him too far, but I couldn't help the satisfaction that welled up inside of me as he turned and walked away, his coat trailing behind him dramatically. I got my point across, and right now, that was what mattered.

I continued walking as I passed my eavesdropper, who had hidden in a pile of construction material. It wasn't someone who was a part of the guild, but they weren't setting off my danger senses, so for now, I could choose to ignore them.

The flap of the master's tent closed as I walked in, causing the old man to jerk slightly in alarm as I came in, "Ember," He yelped, apparently he had fallen asleep on his pile of paperwork, "You're back, I expected you quite some time ago..." He paused to yawn slightly and stretch before jumping out of his seat to approach me.

"We received a letter from the Magic Council three days ago, apparently news of the Ghost of Fiore reappearing reached them and they sent us a notice of warning. Ember, they are considering beginning an investigation into whomever Jose singled out, into you." His voice was so serious that I couldn't help but feel bad for the old man, he was so concerned.

This is pretty much what I expected would happen, if not a bit slower. I smiled slightly as I leaned against a tent pole, my arms crossed behind my head, "So they got to this point, did they? Don't worry old man, it'll take a lot of evidence for them to prove anything, besides, I have the best defense possible, people wouldn't want to believe it was me."

At the old man's confused face I sighed, "No one wants to believe that the Ghost of Fiore was only a really messed up child, which means that the council will already be inclined to believe me when I tell them I'm innocent. Never underestimate the power of people's beliefs."

Makarov nodded slightly, but his brow remained furrowed as he stared at the ground, "Perhaps, but what of the timing? Wouldn't it be suspicious that you joined Fairy Tail at the same time as the Ghost of Fiore disappeared?"

His question was valid, but I couldn't help but wince away from him at that, "Well, you see," I could feel heat spilling across my cheeks as I blushed, this was not something I wanted to admit to him, "Have you ever heard of copycat killers?" 

He nodded slowly and I looked away before continuing, "Well, apparently after I stopped working actively a few people tried to take over my job, which meant that it looked like the Ghost of Fiore was active for several more months than I actually was... Um, well, I know it was probably really bad of me, but I couldn't watch the professional jobs I did be massacred in such a gross way so I may have... Arranged for them to... Well... Disappear."

I stared intently at the ground as I spoke, out of all the people I wanted to never hear about this, he was probably first on the list, "So, well, that means that there is a record of the Ghost being active for quite a bit after I joined Fairy Tail." I finally managed to look at the old man, but that was a big mistake, a look of shock and horror a screaming at me, which  made the words die in my throat.

A heavy silence filled the room as I fidgeted, praying for a meteor or something equally lethal to put me out of my misery right now.

"How did you arrange that?" He finally asked, his voice neutral, "We had you under strict surveillance for years, how could you possibly have arranged that?"

Ah man, this was about to go from bad to worse real quick, "That's a pretty funny story actually," My voice was weak as I chuckled humorlessly, "You know I have a slight magical immunity, right?" He nodded and I took a deep breath before continuing, "Well, I accidentally strayed outside the confines of where I was supposed to go once, totally by accident, I promise, well that led to the device activating, which in turn led to me learning that my magical immunity was stronger than I thought."

His face whitened the more I spoke and I winced for him, "Yeah, I didn't know it then, but apparently it takes a lot of magical energy to bypass my immunity, so the lacrima didn't do all that much. I promise that I didn't abuse it much," My voice was speeding up as I tried to defend myself from the old man's accusing eyes, "It's just that when I heard about the copycat killer, I knew I couldn't let them continue or they would end up causing a lot of damage and crap could be revealed that I really couldn't afford to at that point. I swear that I only left purposefully like ten times!"

By this time, I was sitting on the ground, my hands flailing everywhere as I spoke, though the old man said nothing. The silence continued for a bit longer, which just about killed me.

"And you only decided to tell me this now?"

At this point my voice was so weak it was only barely audible, "Well, there was never a reason to mention it until now."

Finally he sighed, "Ember, I swear, you will be the death of me." I nodded meekly and thanked my lucky stars that Laxus wasn't  here to see me like this, if this was bad, him being here and knowing that I snuck out under his nose would make it so much worse, "I need you to stick around until the magic council gets back in contact with us. You will only be allowed to be in Magnolia or Balsam Village where I can get in contact with you quickly. This means no missions, no trips with the Thunder God Tribe, and absolutely no sneaking off. Disobey me, and there will be consequences."

My heart continued to sink as he spoke, I had shattered his faith in me completely, you could hear it in his voice; it was cold and strict, far different from the normally warm tone he spoke with. Instead of arguing like I normally would, I nodded weakly and stood, dusting off my pants before walking out. If this was what it was like to have a parent then I severely regretted this whole situation, I had no clue that I would regret my life choices so badly...

***

I walked through the woods calmly, watching as the birds flew through the trees, a river nearby was burbling along, and the wind was very soothing against my skin; everything about the situation screamed peace.

I closed my eyes as I walked, soaking in the serenity and smiling gently; perhaps it was wrong of me, but I just couldn't care about where I was going when my surroundings were this beautiful.

The calm was broken by a splash and a wet feeling surrounding my foot; I opened my eyes inquisitively, perhaps I had stepped in the river, though that would be odd, as the sound of water was still a ways a way. 

Blood gushed around my foot, seemingly coming from the ground directly below me in streams. My breathing hitched as I stared, I couldn't pull my eyes off  the blood and for some reason, I couldn't get my leg to move.

As I watched, the blood began to creep up my leg and faces began to swim in the red liquid. My body was frozen as screams began to echo from the blood that was now up to my knee.

"Murderer!"

"Monster!"

"How could you?"

Finally, I was able to move, my knee buckled, but I was able to catch myself, before bolting forward, trying to shake the bloody faces from my  leg. My hands reached up to cover my ears, but the screams of the blood wouldn't be drowned out.

An open door appeared before me and I sprinted through it, slamming it behind me before I collapsed to my knees, becoming a human doorstop as I tried to control my breathing.

"Ember?" A young voice called out to me, I knew that voice, what...?

When I looked up, Amber, my eight year old twin sister stood in front of me, smiling happily, "You're home! I though t I would have to wait forever for you to get home! You promised that we would go to the lake together, remember?"

I blinked at her my eyes misting over as I saw her again, "Amber? You... You're here? How?" I jerked slightly in shock as I heard myself, my voice was much higher, much younger. When I looked down, I saw that my body was indeed smaller, I was eight years old again.

Amber bounded over to me and grabbed my hands happily, "Of course I'm here, silly, where else would I be?" I grinned as she pulled me to my feet before pulling me into the tightest hug she could, "Now come on, if we wait any longer, the sun'll go down and we won't be able to go to the lake until tomorrow!"

Our giggles bounced off the walls as we ran from the room, walking into my childhood home where my parents and other siblings sat, smiling at us. "Are you going to the lake today, my dears?" My father asked, his rich laugh echoing through the room as we nodded eagerly and walked past him.

I reached out to the door handle, by was stopped as the light disappeared from the room. Confusion filled me as I turned around to ask Amber what was going on, only to see her standing in the middle of the room, a bright spotlight on her as she stared blankly at me.

"Amber?" I asked hesitantly, taking a step towards her.

"This is your fault, you know?" Her voice was monotone and lifeless, a far cry from how she normally sounded.

"My fault? Amber you aren't making any sense, we have to go to the lake, remember?" As I took another step towards her, she began laughing, a chilling sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Amber?"

"This is all your fault." She said again and as she said it, a drop of blood bubbled at the corner of her mouth before running down her chin and dripping onto the floor. My eyes followed the drip as it splashed down only to begin backing away slowly, staring in horror as blood began to well up around the drop until Amber was standing in a large puddle of blood.

"This is your fault."

I turned around and began pulling on the door desperately, a nearly illogical need to get away filling me as the door resisted every effort. A hand was laid on my shoulder before I was spun around to see my entire family standing there staring at me, blood pouring from every orifice on their faces.

"This is your fault."

The now lifeless eyes of my family bored into me as I slid down the door to pull my knees to my chin, tears leaking uncontrollably from my eyes as they began walking towards me.

"This is all your fault."

"You killed us."

A small scream forced its way out of me as I bolted upright in my bed, panting heavily. My skin was slick with sweat as I buried my head into my hands, the cool air of my bedroom helping only slightly to calm me.

I hadn't had that kind of dream in years, I hoped it would be gone by now but apparently not... Seeing the familiar sight of my bedroom back in Balsam Village helped me calm down bit by bit, and eventually the room was silent once again.

All this crap with Phantom Lord must have shaken me more than I originally thought, though it was just dreams for now, so I would simply have to deal with it. Nothing I could do for the moment.

~~~~~~~~~

Okay guys, this was my first time trying to write a realistic dream, and let me tell you, it was hard... Let me know how you think I did, it would be much appreciated! 

~klypso01