If I had had a choice, I would have been up and going as soon as Scar-Face had left, but the rather... difficult to defeat the combination of severe pain in my arm and a lack of guidance to my comrades meant that I was stuck.

My body wasn't reacting to my commands for it to stand. Apparently, bodies have limits and I had passed mine the moment I tried to fight my mentors... Fun... Not wholly unexpected, but it still felt like the worst possible time for any of this to be happening. As much as I hated it, all I could do right now was hope beyond all hope that my comrades had survived the attack.

Unconsciousness was elusive, to say the least. I normally had no problem falling asleep, but once again, the combination of worry and pain made that nearly impossible. I was fading in and out for god knows how long before anything changed for me.

A faint heartbeat was the first thing to catch my attention. It was far closer than they normally were when I first noticed them, but that wasn't surprising.

What was surprising was the fact that I couldn't tell who it was. They didn't seem to be malicious, but that was a guess at best.

"Where is she, damn it." A familiar voice muttered, making my whole body relax just a little, it officially wasn't an enemy, "Of course, Lily tells me where she was, but the one with literal wings won't come with me to help find her. Just typical."

A small smile tinged at my lips, despite my best efforts against it. Gajeel's usual gruff manor was the last thing I had expected, but it wasn't unwelcome either.

Hell, if life were any different, I might actually start laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"Oi! Ghost!" He yelled out, apparently getting sick of trudging through the underbrush, which I understood at almost a spiritual level. There was a reason I hadn't attempted to move from my current position, after all.

I really should answer him, make some kind of noise to lead him to my position... But that seemed so tiring.

"GHOST! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!?"

Heh, why was this so amusing?

If it had been left up to me, I would have made Gajeel continue wandering for another minute or two at least, but after the first two calls, his voice began to move further away. As funny as this was, it was not worth being left out here. 

With as much energy as I could muster, I screwed my eyes shut and braced myself, "Black Steel! Over here!" It was a pathetic showing, to say the least.

I doubted that anyone outside of my clearing could have heard that, let alone someone who was moving away from me at a decent pace. As much as I wanted to hope, I allowed my body to sag back down, resigning myself to spending the night here... didn't islands tend to rain a lot? A perfect end to the perfect dumpster fire of a day.

"Ghost?" 

Oh... The voice was closer now, did Gajeel actually hear my pitiful attempt at yelling?

It took just a few moments for my spiky-haired, pierced savior to walk into the clearing, "Well, you look like you got into a fight with a woodchipper, what the fuck happened?"

I rolled my eyes slightly as I looked sideways at him, "Oh, I don't know, probably the same thing that happened to everyone else on this island. I got beat up and beat up a few people in return. A normal day for our guild."

From what I could tell, he was not amused with my witty quip, if the eye roll that he shot me as he approached meant anything, "Very funny, Ghost. You know exactly what I mean though, so don't give me any of that sarcastic crap, it doesn't suit you."

Okay, since when did sarcasm not suit me? I've been using it for years, so one would think that I was born to use sarcasm.

Admittedly, I had to be quite a sight. My arm was an unpleasant red color that was paired with swelling, I had whiplashes all over my body that were a crusty red, at least two stab wounds and probably some discoloration on my face... 

Now that I thought about it, I really did look like a mess... I must be terrifying.

Gajeel crouched by me as I came to a conclusion about my own state of being, a prominent grimace on his face, "Seriously though, if you're going to die then you need to wait until we get back to the Spark Plug, he'll kill me if you die now."

So he was still here then, was he? Good, we needed to talk, "How was he looking?" I asked without thinking, my brain rushing back to the last conversation we had before the S-Class Trial. He seemed okay then, and I knew he was strong enough to face anyone who was stupid enough to have challenged him.

I was just... worried for some odd reason.

"He was alive if that's what you were asking," Gajeel said lightly, "Our fight with the leader of the Guild took a lot out of him, but he came out alright, better than you, to be sure."

I nodded absentmindedly before a blush began to cover my cheeks, We really needed to talk if this was my reaction to a simple question. Sure, I was in more pain than I cared to admit, but this... fluttery feeling overrode all that. This whole enchantment bullshit was getting old real quick.

The coy look Gajeel shot me certainly wasn't missed, but I chose to ignore it. If I tried to address it, it would only end in me digging my own grave, so I sat up instead.

It was a slow and painful process but before too long, I was up, my bad arm cradled to my chest. The wince that came as I moved was more than I could hide, the smallest movement pulled at the scabs and hardened blood that nearly covered my body.

Gajeel immediately moved to help me, worry coating his face that I would normally prefer to not be directed towards me, "Are you sure you can stand? I should be able to carry you back to the camp we have set up if you need me to."

Honestly? It was so tempting to accept, having a ride back would be wonderful, but my pride just wouldn't allow it. 

I shook my head as my magic flared up, "Nah, you look about done in anyways," A small tendril of blood left my arm and turned into a stiff rod, "I might need to use you as a crutch, but that's it." My whole body screamed at me as I stood and my eyes screwed shut as I bit my lip to hold in the whimper.

It seemed that Gajeel had moved to my side, an arm resting supportively on my back as I stood, watching with a wince as I panted heavily. He moved one of my arms over his shoulders once I was fully up, wrapping an arm around my waist as well to stabilize me. 

Technically, I had enough magic to help us get back, but at this point, I would either have to take blood away from my makeshift splint, take other blood from my body which would probably make me pass out, or take it from Gajeel, who seemed exhausted from the fight he had. There was no way I would take any of those options, so I grudgingly moved with him as he turned us in the supposed direction of the camp.

"How close are we?" I gasped out, my breathing still erratic from standing up.

We stepped out of the clearing that I had been in for god knows how long as Gajeel grunted slightly, "Not too far. Lily basically just pointed me in a direction and told me to start walking. Who knows why he didn't come with me."

Interesting, I smiled slightly as we hobbled through the underbrush. A maneuver like this could be difficult on the best of days; when you added in all the many obstacles that came with being in a forest, it was close to impossible to get through. My blood cane came in handy at this point, sometimes it was knocking low hanging foliage out of the way, and others it sharpened and sliced through plants, allowing me to make our way easier without overexerting myself.

The more I did this, the more Gajeel shot me surprised looks, it seemed that he noticed my lack of reserve with my magic. "So your not hiding it anymore?" He asked, his eyebrow quirking.

I shook my head, "No point. The Rune Knights found out about it, so no matter what, I'm going to have an unpleasant chat with their boss at some point. I'd honestly rather the guild hear about it from me... Especially if I end up being arrested."

The implications of what I was saying seemed to shock Gajeel, but not too much. He had, after all, been a member of a dark guild for a while and did things that could absolutely get him arrested. He had to understand what I was going through to some extent.

As much as I hated it, I knew that Lahar would have no choice but arrest me when I told him everything. And it's not like I could keep some things to myself... 

My mentors were vindictive. I knew that. So I also knew that the moment they saw a chance to take me away from the good life I had built and drag me down with them, they would take it. I had too many skeletons in my closet, and they were about to all come pouring out.

Sure, maybe I was a bit irritated about all this, but I couldn't do anything about it. When I killed my family and village during my massacre, I genuinely wanted to be punished for my actions.

 I had been ready to face the consequences of my actions when I first started assassinations.

I had been okay with the fact that I would likely be going to the gallows when I was eleven.

Now... Now there was just so much more that I stood to lose.

For the first time in my life, I was faced with losing my family because of my past... But a part of me was still calm. I needed to be calm, for my sake, as well as for those in my life who were prone to overreactions.

"The Old Man's not going to like that." Gajeel was, as always, to the point with his observations. And so correct as well. If the Old Man realized that I was about to serve time for my past, he would move heaven and earth to stop anything from happening to me.

But... He couldn't protect me. Not this time. "He won't have a choice," I grumbled, "I've killed people. I refuse to let him take the fall with me."

Heartbeats were beginning to appear on my radar, which meant we were close. A good thing, because I was about ready to pass out where I stood.

As I moved to take another step, my crutch remained still, causing me to stumble slightly, my cane catching me before I fell to the ground. "You... You are so casual about giving yourself up," Gajeel growled out, which made me look over at him in shock, his eyes were shadowed over and a dangerous aura was radiating from him, "Don't you know what that would do to the people who care for you?"

God, it's like he was hitting every concern I had earlier, but from a different point of view... When looking at it that way, I suppose that it could be seen as a selfish decision... But the whole situation was more complex than that.

What I wanted to do was nod and tell him that he was right, that I would fight to stay with Fairy Tail no matter what, but that couldn't be the case, "Anyone who takes the lives of others must be ready to have their own taken. I knew that when I chose the path of an assassin... And... I recognize that some sins never die."

I could explain to Gajeel in detail why my decision was what it was, we were about ten minutes from the camp after all, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. Call it cowardice or stubbornness, I didn't particularly care.

He continued staring at me for a moment with muted fury, but that didn't change the fact that I honest to goodness cared more for my family members in Fairy Tail than I did for my own life and perhaps just didn't want to admit it.

Starting up again was difficult, but before too long we were hobbling into the camp, which, immediately made me want to run for cover. 

Every eye in the camp was on us... And, well, it's not like we were inconspicuous as Gajeel was supporting a good portion of my weight and I was covered in blood. At least three people gasped as I came into view, though I couldn't tell who they were or I would be sending them glares.

To be honest, I could understand their surprise. None of them had seen me this beat up before, so it had to be a bit shocking. Even if we all went through a major battle and a lot of people were messed up, somehow I was the most interesting thing in the area.

I could see the Old Man head move to me and his eyes widen in alarm, but my vision was clouded as everything disappeared under a pile of humans. Three shouts of joy met me as the Thunder God Tribe dog piled me to the ground.

It was... Painful, to say the least. But the amount of joy they got from seeing me made me smile.

At least it did after I was done suppressing a groan of pain at my arm being jostled. Seriously, I literally felt my bone shift as I went down... It was not a good feeling.

One of the better things about this moment was the fact that Gajeel was not able to get out of the way quickly enough and went down with me. I could hear him grunt as he hit the ground, though that was mostly drown-out by the calls of my name and the proclamations of worry.

"EMBER!!!!"

"When you didn't show up, we were worried! Thank goodness you're alright!"

"I thought you had gotten lost in the woods and DIED!!!"

Gee... Thanks for that Bickslow, I mean, he wasn't wrong, that probably would have happened, but that didn't mean I liked hearing it said aloud.

Pained chuckles escaped me as I patted Ever's back, who was sobbing and mourning the loss of my swimsuit. 

The other two quickly kicked out Gajeel, who seemed about ready to have a coronary with the proximity to the others, then moved back to me, each seeming like an over-enthusiastic puppy with how eager they were (Ever was more like an over-enthusiastic cat, wanting to cuddle but not nearly as destructive).

It was ridiculously sweet... But at the same time, well... God, it hurt. 

My breathing got heavier as I tried to stop myself from screaming out, which certainly wasn't easy. If I could, I would say something, but that wasn't really a possibility at the moment. The more likely thing was that I would pass out first.

"Hey idiots," The voice of my savior, Laxus, made the entire Thunder God Tribe stop in their movements, "You're hurting her. Get off."

I sagged with relief as the pressure disappeared and my body was able to relax slightly, "I'm so sorry Ember," Ever fretted as Freed and Bickslow offered me a hand, "We were just so worried!"

As I got to my feet, I shot a slight grin at Ever, "Don't worry about it, you didn't finish me off, so we're good." As much as I hoped that that would be enough, I could see that everyone was worried, so I just rubbed the back of my neck, "So, uh, I was reunited with my mentors."

That one statement was enough to make the whole Thunder God Tribe gasp in horror (along with the Old Man, the only ones in the guild who knew that much about my past). The whole guild was listening in as well and I sighed... 

Sure, Laxus needed to talk to me, I could see it in his eyes, but now was as good a time as ever.

"Hey everyone?" I asked, raising my voice just enough to include the whole clearing, "None of you need to know this, but I want you to hear it from me over the Magic Council."

Reactions were varied from the people who knew my past. Gajeel was glaring heavily at the ground as I spoke, the Old Man looked about ready to pass out from shock, and... Well, I avoided looking at Laxus or the Thunder God Tribe. They would probably want me to stop, but this was something I needed to do.

"I don't know how many of you remember stories of the Ghost of Fiore, the... Uh... The assassin from years ago? They were pretty infamous." I could feel the blood rushing from my face as I took a steadying breath.

A hand wrapped around my arm as I spoke. When I looked up, Laxus was staring right at me, his hand steadying the tremor that had begun to develop. He looked confused, but not irritated, he was supporting me, "Well, for those of you who don't know- a smaller number than I would like- that was me. I mean... I was the assassin known as the Ghost of Fiore."

Silence reigned for a moment before a minor bomb seemed to drop on the area, one person may have screamed, but everyone else was simply yelling in shock... Well, that or shooting their most venomous glares at me.

A tremor wracked my body, I knew those close to me would be unphased, most of them already knew my secret, but would the Old Man be forced to kick me out if people didn't feel safe?

I mean, it's not like I'd proven myself to be safe in the past. What was my track record? A month since my last murder? Just looking at that, it seemed safer to just put me down now before I lost control again.

My eyes were still on Laxus' face- my anchor- but that couldn't last forever. Just as the yells were reaching a fevered pitch, I looked away to see the pink-haired idiot striding towards me with fury in his eyes as Lucy tried to hold him back. It was as I suspected, a confrontation was inevitable, I just wished I wasn't so... fragile right now.

Before anyone could reach me (including a menacing aura that was felt like a viper waiting to strike), a wall of people stepped in front of me.

"What do you think you're doing?" Icyman was the one who spoke up, voice angry and just a few steps away from me, "I don't care if she's your friend, she's still a murderer!"

That menacing presence grew closer and I was only just able to see Guildarts stepping towards us from behind before Laxus moved me just enough so that I was pressing into his back, sandwiched between him and the Thunder God Tribe.

The heartbeats around us were erratic. I feared that if this continued on much longer, we would be in for a worse fight than anything Grimoire Heart could challenge us to.

A screech pulled my attention to where Icyman had been not too long ago, Juvia was clinging to him as though her life depended on it and screaming as he prepared to cast a spell, "Clam down Grey! Please! Juvia knows this is scary, but Miss Ember is a good person! Juvia trusts her! Please trust Juvia, Grey-sama!"

From my senses alone, I could tell that multiple people were preparing to cast spells, though whether they were looking to attack or defend was beyond me. 

I couldn't let this happen... 

I wouldn't let them tear my friends apart just for supporting me

And it's not like I was helpless in a situation like this either. 

Eventually, I would need the support of those who knew about me and trusted me regardless, but I needed to be the one to take the first step, to show them that I was powerful, but not a threat.

Shit, I really didn't want to do this.

"BLOOD CONTROL: FREEZE!" My voice echoed out over the clearing as I used a huge part of my power to stop everyone in their tracks, regardless of whether or not I had tasted their blood before. The cage of my control shook and I felt the monster inside of me almost get free with that one move, but I was able to hold on.

Losing control now would show everyone that I was indeed the monster they thought of me as, but that wouldn't be necessary today.

The only ones who remained out of my control were the Lion (I was pretty sure my magic didn't work on spirits anyways), the Old Man, and the cats since I was focusing on the human heartbeats.

With a wobble, I moved out from behind my human barricade to see Gajeel standing off to the side, ready to help me along with Squeaky, which was a surprise. Erza was standing off to the side, a look of indecision on her face. Everyone else was angry in one way or another.

The strain of holding so many people hit me immediately and I groaned, staggering in place as I glanced around at those who were unfrozen, "Sorry about this, you guys. I just needed to get their attention."

Makarov nodded and walked to my side, "It's alright Ember, just know that I support you even if I don't know why you've chosen to tell people." He moved just enough so that he was standing at my side with his arms folded, "Though... You should probably let them go before they die. I would likely have to turn you over to the council at that point."

His words were humorous... He... He had faith in me.

Well shoot, if I weren't so overwrought already, I probably would have started sobbing with that revelation.

Lily had moved to my side as well, shifting into his muscle form as he watched the situation carefully, "You showed us your magic, but I never expected you to be this strong."

I grinned slightly before releasing the magic, watching as everyone slowly dropped the defensive positions they had been holding. The recoil of the magic was enough that I had to lean on Lily for support for a moment, "Well, to be fair, it was kind of an accident."

He was obviously surprised at this, but I paid him no mind, I had a potential mob to talk down first, "Listen, I know you're angry, and perhaps a little scared, and well..." I bit my lip and looked down, "I'm sorry for that. I was raised to be an assassin and did what I had been taught to do mindlessly, allowing my instincts and training to take the place of any empathy."

"You can hate me all you want for what I did, believe me, I understand if you do, but perhaps you could wait until you know everything before you attack me mindlessly."

The idiot was the first one to step forward, "Oh yeah? And why should we give you the time of day?" He snarled, both hands on fire.

Makarov seemed ready to jump in and give him the reason he needed but I decided to stop him. My hand rested gently on the Old Man's shoulder (partially as a silent cue and partially for support), "You personally?" I asked, not waiting for an answer before I answered my own rhetorical question, "Well, I think you owe me at least that much after saving your life with the whole 'Tower of Heaven' debacle."

My eyes moved to Icyman as I smirked, "Same goes for you and Ever's crush (insert Ever turning red and squeaking like a mouse that's been trod on) Except replace the Tower of Heaven incident with the Phantom Lord thing. And most of you owe me at least a little bit after I took a large portion of the electrical charge that Laxus' Thunder Palace discharged... Or, Well, I don't know, being one of the only people who's capable of beating that idiot in a fight, without using my magic."

As I spoke, I looked at every person in the clearing intently, not backing down even when I came to Guildarts, who seemed just as on edge as he had before, "Face it, I've done too much for this guild for you to not hear me out."

This was not like me, I was not normally the one who boasted my accolades, so it was physically painful for me to do this, but it was necessary.

As my eyes connected with Laxus', I could see pride in them that had me flushing like a teenage girl. Keep yourself under control Ember, now was not the time to be staring at his lips... 

Wait, what?

The Old Man stepped forward, breaking me out of my stupor and spoke, "If all that she said isn't enough, then trust me. I am, after all, the one who chose to let her into the guild instead of sending her to the Magic Council in the first place."

Lily surprised me by stepping forward as well, "Or me. I have only known Ember a short time, but she has proven herself to me time and time again, even going so far as to save Carla and I from her mentors, getting nothing but a knife in her back in return."

The white cat nodded from her girl's side before looking away.

Juvia stepped forward next, "Or Juvia. Miss Ember was the first to accept Juvia into the guild without question or judgment."

Several other people stepped forward after that, nodding in agreement; the entire Thunder God Tribe, Squeaky (which was surprising to me), Gajeel, Lucy, Cana, and even Erza, who looked embarrassed to be there.

Those who were for attacking me seemed to realize that they were in the minority as they looked around and noticed nearly everyone stepping forward.

It was... Almost unbelievable. I had spoken about saving people's lives, but this was the last thing I expected. The stress and awe caught up to me in a moment and I felt my knees buckle. Lily noticed, but before he could even think to grab me, there was a flash of light.

I didn't end up falling against the ground, but rather a firm chest that certainly hadn't been there before. The top of my head didn't even reach the person's chin, though it certainly was familiar.

Let's not say that I make a habit of memorizing chests and who they belong to, but I knew this bandaged chest, I knew the arms that wrapped around my waist, keeping me upright, and I most certainly knew the mouth that brushed against my ear as he dipped down.

"I'd join in this inspiring display of trust, but I don't think I'd help your cause." It had been a month and a half since I had last been in the same room as Laxus, and his low vice felt like a punch to the gut as a grin quirked involuntarily at my lips.

My body wasn't capable of turning at the waist, so I maneuvered my body to where I was now facing him, his arms still supporting my weight, "Just so you know," I muttered out taking half a second to memorize every facet of his face, "I did what you asked."

His confusion was palpable, so I smiled and placed my hands on his arms, "My mentors are still alive, they're in the custody of the Magic Council, but they're alive. I didn't kill them."

It didn't take long for his face to transform from confusion to joy as he looked down at me with the warmest look I had ever seen in his eyes, no smile, but I knew his face just as well as I knew my own.

"That's my girl." He muttered almost silently before his head dipped and for the third time, his lips connected with mine.

At that moment, it didn't matter that my body had been shattered. 

It didn't matter that I had to explain my life's story to my entire guild. 

It didn't matter that in just a few short days I would have to turn myself in to the magic council.

It didn't matter what enchantment he had put on me.

For a moment, his lips were on mine, and that was enough. There was nothing that would stop us, and in that moment? In that moment, I kissed him back. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guys, where did this mushy crap come from?!?!? I wasn't expecting this from Ember, but I am 100% here for it. It is far more romantic than I was expecting, but AFUIGSDIFAISUHFSDGH!

So, at the beginning of this, I went back and looked at Ember's injuries, just to be factual and whatnot, and I thought, 'well, they're bad, but they aren't too extensive. A stab wound, a broken arm, a few whip marks...'

No. 

It was a bit more than that. I made this list:

Whip lashings:

-Waist x2

-Back

-Ankle

-Wrists x2

-Palms of hands x a lot

-Back

Other

-Large bruise on side of the head from being kicked

-Blood running down from her mouth

-Inch long stab wound down on her back that has blood dried over it in a spiderweb type pattern

-Deep stab wound in the thigh

-Other various knife wounds from the fight

-Blood red skin from wrist to elbow (the bone still isn't entirely straight)

-Splits in the forearm where the bone broke through

Like... What torture did I put my poor girl through? Can you image walking in on her lying on the floor like this? She'd literally look dead!