"Okay, so it appears as though she crashed into the tree, threw up, then ran away," Gideon explained as he knelt down by the partially wrecked bike.

Nashi was in tears, her body thrown over her damaged bike as she wept openly, "I'll kill that little shrew!"

Liddan and Jude squinted as they looked down at the leftover vomit on the ground. "Jude," Liddan said, "stick your hand in it and see if it's fresh."

"What–I'm not doing that?!"

"I thought you wanted to find Cinder!"

"How is that gonna help? I mean what temperature is vomit when it comes out of you? I don't think it's hot!"

"Well we won't know that until you stick your face in it!"

"My face was never on the table!"

"Guys–" Gideon said, his hand on Nashi's back, "it would be much smarter to check the motorbike considering we know it'd be hot from the engine."

"Oh..." Liddan said, "well how is it, Nashi?"

"Still warm," she sniffed, "just keep breathing baby...mommy's here."

Gideon pat his wife on the back, "It was never alive, honey..." Turning back to Liddan and Jude, "look, we might be able to track her, we just need to figure out what direction she went."

"Okay," Liddan turned to Jude, "well, you've got the best sense of smell out of all of us, how about you try and track her by scent."

"I'm not a dog," Jude said, then wiped his nose on his sleeve, "plus...I'm really congested right now."

"Come on, Jude, dad's been able to do it, I'm sure you can too if you try," Nashi said, wiping her tears as she pulled out a hankie. She passed it to Jude, "Quick, blow and then smell."

Jude made a face as he looked at the dirty handkerchief passed to him, shaking his head as Gideon pulled out a clean one. He passed it to Jude as he let out a long snorting blow. "Pinch your nose, really clear it out," Gideon said in a somewhat fatherly tone.

A bit of a snotty blow came from Jude's nose. After a few wipes, he took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp forest air around them.

"I can still...sense her?" Jude said with little certainty. He began to walk out, pointing through the trees, "I think she's heading north..."

"Yeah, but where the heck too?" Liddan said, "I mean–mom and dad went looking for some secret hide-away in a completely different direction. What does Cinder know that we don't?"

"I'm not sure," Jude said, "but right now she's slowing down. We might be able to catch up with her."

"Then let's hurry," Gideon said, pulling Nashi up and her bike as well. "Is the bike working?"

Nashi shook her head, "I can't get the engine to start, I think I'll need a bit of time to fix it."

"We'll drop you off near a mechanic and keep pursuing Cinder, when the bike is fixed you catch up." Gideon said, kissing Nashi on the cheek. "Then you can punch Cinder in the face or whatever you wanna do."

"I'm gonna punch her in her non-existent boobs."

"That seems pretty inappropriate, please don't do that honey."

"I can't make any promises–"

"Just please don't break the law–"

"You're only breaking the law if you get caught–"

"Nashi–no–" Gideon turned to Liddan and Jude, "Guys–?"

"You married her," Liddan shrugged, despite Nashi being his own sister. He walked to join Jude, who seemed rather uneasy. "Hey, you okay?"

"Not really," Jude said flatly, "I have a terrible fear that if I'm wrong and I take us in the wrong direction then Cinder is gonna get away and run into Red and either get murdered or turn evil or something and it'll all be my fault–OW!" Jude was silenced as Liddan smacked him on the back of the head.

"Stop all that. Look, we ain't getting anywhere with that attitude. So shut up, shape up, and have a little faith in yourself. Remember when you went tracking Molly?"

"Please don't remind me of that..."

"Look, I know no one wants to say it...because it objectively was a terrible idea...but you were brave and confident in your choices and it probably saved your life in some of those situations. I need you to be stupidly confident right now, okay?" Liddan squinted his eyes at Jude. "Look me in the eyes, call me a dick, and go find our weird sister."

Jude just furrowed his brow even further, "I don't understand why I have to call you a dick in this situation."

"Because I just feel like you've wanted to tell me that for a while."

Jude nodded his head to the side, he was right to a degree. He took a deep breath, looked Liddan in the eye, and pretended he felt completely sure of himself, "Okay, you dick, let's do find Cinder."

"Scratch that," Liddan shook his head, "don't call me a dick or I'll punch you in the neck."

Liddan briskly walked past Jude, a stern look on his face as Jude shook his head, muttering, "But you told me to..." as he followed after. It was the beginning of a hunt, and not a pleasant one.

━☽【❖】☾━

"Okay everyone, I've gathered you all here because my son is missing," Jellal said, standing in front of old team members who had all gone their separate ways. "Our job is to track him down and get him out of danger."

What stood before him were the former members of Crime Sorcière, a guild of his creating in a time of redemption. Though they didn't meet up often, when Jellal summoned them, they were quick to arrive.

Front and center was the original founder, Meredy, along with Sorano, Erik, Macbeth, and Sawyer. They were joined by their children Othello and Fidi, who decided to join with the hopes of seeing some of the Fairy Tail members again.

Meredy shot her hand up, a rather curt look on her face as she said, "I have a question."

"Yes, Meredy, of course."

"So, this isn't really a question, but I just wanted everyone to know that I talked to Erza and your son isn't missing and is actually with your daughter right now you're just overreacting."

The older members of the group all let out a long sigh, grunting as they said, "Come on, Jellal–we took a midnight train for this!"

"I can't believe I came here and ran into my ex for this," Sorano muttered under her breath as she shielded her face from Macbeth.

"Wait, I thought we were getting back together..." Macbeth muttered, "isn't that why you spent the night with me–"

"Mom..." Othello sighed, his hand falling over his eyes as he shook his head. "What did I say about sleeping with dad–you know he just automatically assumes you're getting back together."

"We were never together in the first place," Sorano said in her defense, "you think that after 20 years he'd realize–"

"ENOUGH!" Jellal said, "Look, this is more complicated than my wife made it out to be! Basil is vulnerable and he ran off with a known criminal. Well...former criminal. But it's all the same!"

"We're literally all former criminals," Meredy said, "Jellal, I think this is a bit overkill, do you really need all of us to go to Reven to find your son when we know he's not actually in any active danger?"

"He's in trouble–I can feel it! I can feel it in my bones!"

Jellal continued to rant for another minute, but as he did Fidi elbowed Othello in the side. "Aight, I'm outta here."

"Wait, why?" Othello turned as Fidi slunk out through the background to escape the arguing of Jellal and his former guildmates. "Didn't you want to see the other Fairy Tail members?"

"Uh, no, I don't care, seen one you've seen 'em all. I came here because you wanted to come–and it's clear why!"

"While it's true I have strong sexual feelings for Esmeralda–"

"OH my gosh man–you don't have to be so blunt about it!" Fidi said, smacking his hand over Othello's mouth. "All I was gonna say is you wanted to see her–not that!"

Fidi was beet red, he took a breath before saying, "Ever since Felicity's spell broke...I don't know man you haven't gone quite to being your old self again."

"What do you mean?"

"I guess you don't...you don't smile anymore."

Immediately, to try and please Fidi, Othello smiled. Or at least tried to. It was rather uncomfortable and very, very not great.

"Okay–no–not like that," Fidi shook his head, "look, you haven't been around Esmeralda much since you changed back."

"You're right, at least not in a non-sexual meeting–"

"Like I said man–I don't really need to hear that!" Fidi shook his head, "Just be honest, did you want me here because you were nervous to see her? You were worried things would be different now that you're not all...duuuuh?"

Othello nodded his head to the side, "Perhaps unconsciously, yes, I did want you here because, in your words, I'm not duuuuh anymore. Esmeralda was interested in the duuuuh version of me–"

"Stop saying duh, man."

"Esmeralda was interested in the former version of me, I wonder if she'll still find my attractive now that I'm back to...normal."

Othello seemed to frown, though in reality his facial muscles still didn't seem to know what they were doing when expressing most emotions.

Fidi, however, had learned to read him like a book in all his time under Felicity's influence. He put his arm on his shoulder, "You know what, I'm in, where you go I go, brother."

"Well congrats," Sawyer said, turning away, "because we're out."

The rest of Crime Sorcière started to depart to Jellal's dismay.

Meredy lingered for a moment, shaking her head, "Jellal, I think you should just go talk to your son, one on one."

"This isn't about talking–this is about protecting my kid–" Jellal insisted, though no one seemed to be buying it.

Sorano was ready to turn away, but as Macbeth turned to her to say, "Our night was a dream, but the day with you is a nightmare, I shall return to the island...Sawyer...you're driving because I want to take a nap on the way back."

"I'm always driving!" Sawyer called back as they walked down the hill away from the Fairy Tail guildhall.

Sorano shook her head in annoyance, "Can't believe they're still living on that island," she shook her head in annoyance, "Othello, baby, you're not staying are you?"

"I thought I'd stay to see Esmeralda again," Othello said.

"Well that's cute and all, but I came here hoping that Jellal and the others would help me find your sister," Sorano but her hands on her hips, shaking her head, "I can't believe she's run off before I could even see her again...after all these years."

"I'm sorry, mother," Othello said, "she didn't even say goodbye, but she'd just lost her eyes."

"That's ridiculous, how do you lose a pair of eyes? They're stuck in your head, afterall." She shook her head, turning to Jellal. "Back to you and your drama, are you really certain you need help talking to–"

Jellal corrected, "Saving–"

"Saving your son? Because I have a favor to ask in return."

Jellal looked at the three remaining before him. It was just Sorano, Othello, and Fidi. Not an ideal team, but all he had for the time being.

"Fine, whatever you need, I'll do my best to fulfill it."

"Fine, then let's get a move on, where is your son anyway?"

His son was in the car with his daughter, holding on for dear life for the drive of his life.

"I'm gonna be sick!" He announced as he gripped onto the bar at the ceiling of the van as Ezzie drove in circles.

They were trying to shake off a group of the Howl Caedo cars. Esmeralda wasn't exactly a good driver, but she certainly was a confident one, if not reckless. However, if ever there was a time for reckless driving, this was it.

As the two stumbled around in the front of the van, Esmeralda could see through the rearview the cars were still coming after them. She squinted her eyes at the dark and unclear road ahead, feeling unprepared for each turn that came to pass.

"Okay, so don't freak out," Ezzie began, never a good start, "but I'm gonna turn the lights out."

"I will kill you if we don't die in this van."

Turning the lights off, Esmeralda's van suddenly became invisible on the dimly lit roads. The further they got out of the city, the darker it became and harder to track.

On the uneven, hilly roads, they approached the mountains. That was just what Esmeralda planned.

"Hold on," she said, as if Basil wasn't already gripping to his seat wildly.

A far league ahead of the pursuers, she pulled off to the curb of the road aggressively. The entire van and its contents (that being Basil and Ezzie) lurched forward, the two almost hitting the dashboard of the car in the process.

For a moment, everything seemed to stop, until they heard the sound of engines coming after them, racing down the road at drastic speeds.

What Ezzie had planned wasn't smart or clever, it was rather stupid.

The plan was, and how it actually acted out in real time, was the cars would be racing down wildly on the curvy mountain road, nothing but a thin steel barrier near them.

As they raced passed Ezzie, they were supposed to see her and try to stop, causing them to swerve.

Of course, on this exact curve, as they swerve they would slide into the rail. However, the rail was there for a reason, meant to prevent such a heinous stop to cause a heinous end.

So when the cars swerved into the barrier, stopping them just a few inches from death, weakening the barrier (and here is the stupid part) Ezzie would once again rush forward toward these cars on the edge of the barrier and ram into them, busting the barrier and pushing them off the edge.

Down, down, they roll down the mountain. Up on top, Ezzie laughs maniacally for a moment before remembering she's not alone in the van.

She stops suddenly, clears her throat, then flicks on her lights. "Anyway."

"That was the worst plan–we should have died."

"But we didn't!"

Despite feeling accomplished, Ezzie was quick to drive them back to the Salveza hide out. However, when they returned, despite the intruders being gone, things did not seem to have improved.

To start, Eleanor had arrived, along with Xavier and Simie, who were waiting outside keeping guard.

At the sight of Ezzie's van, they seemed to tense up a bit.

"What's going on?" She was quick to ask, walking up to Xavier, "Are they all gone?"

"Looks like you led the rest of them away, where are they?" Simie asked.

"Off the mountain," Basil sighed. The mountain roads were a good half hour away, having been a long chase for the both of them. Basil was tired, and even on the ride back, didn't seem very calm. "Where's everyone? Was anyone hurt?"

Xavier sighed, "Yeah, it's not good, I don't think she's calmed down yet."

"Who?"

As Basil opened the door, he could immediately hear it. It was a panicked cry, a heaving breath between weeping. Eleanor was speaking with her, trying to calm her down. "I know, I'm here," she kept whispering, "just breathe."

Simie stepped in behind Basil, followed by Xavier and Ezzie who knowingly kept their distance. "I've never seen her like this."

Florence was on all fours, her head down, on the ground as she let out screams. She was in absolute turmoil.

As her mouth hung open, she began to gag, and Eleanor was quick to grab an already prepared bucket for her to vomit into.

Eleanor would sit quietly holding her hair back, waiting for her to get it out of her system where she would then proceed to let out these unintelligible wails.

It wasn't gentle or quiet, mourning usually isn't either of those things.

When she managed to even say something coherent, she would repetitively mutter out, "It's my fault...this is all my fault."

"Florence, listen to me," Eleanor explained, "this was a planned attack before we got involved. If you weren't here, a lot more people could have been hurt."

"I don't care!" Her body contorted as she crawled out of Eleanor's grasp, who followed her in spite of her rejection. Eleanor kept trying to hold onto Florence, embracing her until she could once again

Everyone in the room seemed disturbed, some turning away. "I've never seen her like this," Simie would whisper to Ezzie and Xavier, each keeping their distance as to not impose on Florence's crisis.

However, Basil seemed to freeze.

He stepped toward the room where it happened, where the body had been pulled away but the blood still remained.

As he stepped inside he looked down to see the pool still there, sinking into the wooden floor below them.

He looked down, his shoes were soaked in red.

"Basil, take your shoes off, I just cleaned this floor!"

He shrunk down at the sound of his mother snapping at him, and quickly he yanked off his boots, but that didn't seem to appease his mother one bit.

She put her hand on his head, pulling his head back to look at his face to see it was covered with dirt. "What the heck were you doing to get this dirty? You know the hot water is out–again!"

"I was looking for fossils to show Coladome," he said, pulling the small stones from his pockets.

"Those aren't fossils, they're rocks–Basil–" she wiped her brow. It was summer. It was hot, she was exhausted.

"No, Caesar says they're fossils–look–they have the shells on them. They used to be shells, or something–"

"Just go to the spicket and wash up–now!"

He rushed outside, barefoot, as he watched his mother kneel down to wipe off the dirt leftover from Basil.

Out in the sun, he could see his father in the grass, writing something down as he smoked a cigarette.

"Papa," rushed toward him, "look, I found these."

"I'm busy Basil," he took a long drag before finally glancing over to Basil to see the rocks in his hands. "What do you have?"

"They're fossils," Basil insisted, "Caesar told me that the rocks form around the shell, and then the shell dies."

"Shells don't die, Basil," he scratched something out on his book, "I'm busy, go play."

"Momma said to wash up."

"Then wash up, dammit," he swatted Basil away, "go on now."

Basil shoved the fossils back into his pocket as he walked to the spicket. He struggled to get it to pull out, the old thing was so rusty at times it was impossible for a boy of Basil's size to get it.

As he struggled, he called back, "Papa–Papa I need help!"

There was no response, "Papa!" He let out a horrid screech, desperate for his dad to look his way.

However, it wasn't him who came to Basil's aid.

"Let me help you there, pal," Basil turned his head to see a man, a stranger, pulling at the handle on the spicket. The water came flooding out, the man taking a chance to cup his hands under it and take a drink.

He seemed relieved, wiping his brow as he looked down at Basil. He squinted for a second, trying to figure something out, Basil just didn't know what.

Basil was taught not to talk to strangers. In fact, his parents forbid him to talk to most people, other than the Pollen's (who his father complained about every other breath).

"Simon?" he suddenly blurted out.

Basil made a face, "I don't know any Simon," he covered his mouth, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"That's good advice," the man nodded, "I don't mean to frighten you, I'm just looking for some old friends and I heard they had a house out here, which appears to be in the middle of nowhere...but..." He pointed to Basil's house, which was a good hundred feet away, "Which I think might be right there, little man."

"That's my house," Basil said, "my papa's out front."

The man cupped his hand over his eyes, squinting as he looked out to see the man in the front yard of the tiny little house. "Finally," he said with a long sigh. "Finally..."

He started to walk toward the house, Basil following somewhat nervously. He ran ahead, calling out, "Papa! PAPA!"

"Basil–I told you I was busy–" he continued to look down at his book.

"Clive," that got his attention. The stranger called out to him and he finally looked up. He looked shocked, frightened almost.

"My dad's name is Warren," Basil corrected the stranger.

"Right," the stranger shoved his hands into his pockets, shaking his head, "Warren then, we should talk."

Dad stood up, shutting his book as he looked at the stranger. "Faye," he called out, "get out here."

"What–who are you talking to?" She rushed out of the house, rag still in hand. She looked at the stranger and blurted out, "Casper–"

"You know him?" Basil said, rushing to his mother's side. He grabbed her pant leg, nervous as to what was happening.

"Right," mom looked at dad, dad just turned away. "Fine...fine this is your Uncle Casper. We're old friends."

"Really?"

"Yup, from before you were born."

"Oh," Basil's mood shifted, he turned to the stranger, now known as Casper, and smiled, "hi Uncle Casper."

He smiled softly, "Hi there...uh..."

"Basil," dad answered quickly. "His name is Basil."

"Right," Casper nodded, "well, we have a few things to discuss."

Mom seemed to take a moment to process what was happening before looking down to Basil and saying, "While Uncle Casper and us talk...you should go visit Coladome."

"Really?"

"Yeah, go to their house and don't come back until your father comes to get you, okay?"

Basil squinted, "But you let me walk home alone all the time–"

"Not tonight," she insisted, "go straight there, okay? Now."

Basil was not there to protest. He loved going to the Pollen's. He loved it there a bit more than he did at home. "Okay," he rushed into the house to grab his boots. "Bye mama, bye papa!" He scrambled to get his shoes on, then turned to Casper. "Bye Uncle Casper."

Casper waved politely as he watched Basil run off, a pep in his step as he headed to the Pollen's.

There he and Coladome played in the front yard with Rosemary. She weeded their garden with the toddling Marigold pulling out grass.

"I found these fossils," he pulled them from his pockets. "They're of shells."

"I thought fossils were bones," Coladome said, "like of dinosaurs or something."

"Can I see?" Marigold kept asking.

"Marigold, let them play," Rosemary would say, beaconing her back to her side where she'd sit in her lap, showing her the different wildflowers she'd picked.

Rosemary gawked in amazement at each flower as though she'd never seen one in her life. Basil wasn't sure if he felt envious or maybe just bizarre. He wondered if Rosemary was just different from other mothers. Was his family not normal?

The thought fled within an instant, as do most things in a young mind, as he found himself distracted by the game he and Coladome were playing.

When the sun had begun to set, Basil was still at the Pollen's. He remembered his mother telling him to stay until his father came to pick him up.

Caesar looked outside, it being summer, it was almost nine when the sun had begun to set. "It's getting dark out, are you staying the night, Basil?"

He looked up at Caesar. As fun as it sounded to have a sleepover, Basil was antsy to get home. He didn't plan to stay all night and he wanted to see his parents.

"No," Basil shook his head and decided to fib, "my dad said to be home by sundown, so I should go home."

"Are you sure, why don't I walk you," Caesar said.

"I can do it myself," this was true, Basil had walked there himself, and his parents didn't care if he walked back either.

Caesar was hesitant, but as Basil waved goodbye to Coladome, he was already headed toward the fence.

Basil's house was in the middle of the woods. In fact, there was no real road to get there, just a scraped up forest trail that was walked on enough for you to follow.

Basil knew the path well, and he could be home in about ten minutes if he walked briskly. So on that day he tried to walk as fast as possible to get home before sundown. He figured his dad would be on his way, at least, and maybe he'd run into him on the way and they could walk the rest of the way back together.

Of course, that didn't happen.

The further Basil got down the trail, the more uneasy he felt. Did his dad just forget him?

When his home was in sight, he could see the lights were on.

He squinted as he approached, because he could hear yelling and he couldn't tell if it was his father's or Uncle Casper's.

When a child hears screaming, they don't go rushing toward it. So as he approached he couldn't help but feel anxious. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go home anymore.

But then he heard his mother scream, and for some reason that gave him the courage.

When he made it to the house, he didn't throw open the door, he cracked it at first.

"No–Clive–you bastard!"

He could hear a rattle and see his mother lunge forward, only to let out another horrid scream.

"AH–" she fell backward.

"Faye–" Uncle Casper gasped out. "Wait–Faye–"

That's when Basil saw her fall to the floor, his mother collapsing with a knife wound at her kneck and stomach. She held her hand to her wound, but with the two wounds she could do little to prevent the blood from spilling out somewhere.

She looked out the crack of the door, and she spotted Basil. Tears in her eyes, she whispered, "Run...run!"

"Faye?" Uncle Casper took a step toward her, inching toward the door. "Faye–"

As he knelt down to her, Basil could see his face properly. Uncle Casper held the bloody knife in his hands, heck the blood was on his hands.

When he turned toward the door, Basil ran.

He ran as fast as he could.

"Basil!" He could hear his name being called. "BASIL! PLEASE! DON'T RUN!"

"Basil!"

As he heard his name over and over again, he didn't realize that it was someone else calling it.

Running through the woods, collapsed forward as he ran into Caesar himself, who had followed Basil in order to make sure he got home alright.

"Basil–what happened?"

Basil stretched his arm out, pointing back at his house, but the words didn't come out. He was gasping for air as he tried to explain, "They–Uncle Casper–mama!"

Caesar kept Basil behind him, "Stay behind me."

As Caesar approached the house, he could see the door hung open and Basil's mother there in the front.

Caesar rushed in to look and see if anyone was still alive, and as he looked back at Basil, he said, "Basil–don't come in here–" he shut the door. "It's gonna be okay, I'll take you back to my house and I'll get the sheriff–the doctor–"

"He got away," this was all Basil could say.

"What?"

"Uncle Casper," Basil was burning with something he hadn't felt before, "he got away."

When he went into the house again, the bodies were gone, but the blood was still there, staining the wooden floors.

As Basil stared down at the floors, he turned back to Simie, "Who did it?"

"Apparently, Madame Indigo had planned to come after them for some time. Florence tried to stop her but Indigo was...she was merciless. She got away."

Esmeralda felt uneasy as she watched Basil walk off, she followed after him to see if he was alright, but when she entered the room where Florence's father died, she wasn't sure what she was seeing.

"Basil?" She asked quietly, "Maybe we should go back to the HQ and talk next steps, give Florence some space and privacy."

Basil swept past her, Ezzie squinted, "Basil–hey–"

He walked right out of the building, in fact, not turning to look at Florence or anything.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked as he approached her van, opening the front door and starting it with her keys. "BASIL!"

That's when she saw his eyes, and in a moment she recognized the red within them. It was the same look she had in her eyes when she saw blood.

"Basil..." she softened, "What are you doing?"

His breath shook as he spoke, "I'm gonna kill them."

"Who...?"

"All of them."

━☽【❖】☾━

Jude blew his nose into a tissue yet again, wiping his eyes as they became teary.

Liddan peered through a pair of binoculars as he waited at the top of a tree. Jude was at the bottom.

"How much longer?" Jude said. "When's he gonna show up?"

"Give him a bit, it's freezing cold out here."

"Yeah, I know," Jude rubbed his arms, trying to stay warm. At that moment, Gideon had gone into town with Nashi to try and fix her bike. They'd gotten pretty far from Magnolia, but when Liddan had used the lacrima to summon Malcon to their aid. He was supposed to bring some supplies, along with some hot soup (upon Jude's request).

"You know, you have fire powers," Liddan scoffed, "just make a fire."

"I don't know how to make a fire–like a campfire–what if it spreads? And then that bear comes after me?"

"What bear?"

"The fire bear!"

"I have no idea what you're..." Liddan squinted his eyes, then pulled up his binoculars once again to peer into the distance. "Smoke."

"What?"

"There's smoke that way, we're in the middle of the woods–it's freezing–what if it's Cinder's?"

"We lost track of her smell," Jude said, "if she was by a fire maybe her smell would have changed...soaked up the smoke."

"It's worth a shot," Liddan said, carefully pulling himself down from the tree to look at Jude. "Okay, change of plans, I go follow that smoke, you stay here and wait for Gideon and Nashi to get back–"

"Wait–no!"

"One of us has to stay, for Malcon–"

"And if you actually do find Cinder, who do you think can actually talk her out of it–or defend themselves against her. You don't exactly have the power at your grasp anymore."

Liddan didn't appreciate this comment. "Okay," he held his break for a second, cooling down as he knew it was wrong to get angry with Jude. "Okay...just...fine, why don't we go together. It's probably half a mile north, it's not even that long of a walk from here."

He slid down from the tree a little bit at a time. He was working with one arm after all. He had gotten up there okay, but with Jude watching him so carefully, he suddenly felt nervous. "Stop...stop lookin–"

"What? I'm not doing anything–"

"Just stop staring at me like I'm gonna fall!"

"I'm not–geez," Jude turned away as Liddan finally dropped down from the tree. "You're so moody–"

"I know I'm being moody–I know," Liddan scratched his head, grabbing his pack to sling over his shoulder. He grunted as he pointed through the trees, "That way, come on. Hurry."

By foot, Liddan and Jude followed the smoke. Whenever they felt a bit uncertain, Jude would clear his nostrils and take a sniff of the air to guide them.

"You get a sense of her? Or smoke?" Liddan would ask, sensing nothing at all. "Anything?"

"I'm so congested I can hardly smell anything–" Jude snorted out of his nose, wiping it again as he tried to clear his nasals.

"Please, even I can smell it," Liddan quickened his pace, "I can smell something, like something is cooking?"

He brought his pace to a jog to Jude's annoyance, who struggled to keep up.

It was more than half a mile, like Liddan had said (Dragneel's never were very good at math) but when they finally did arrive to where the fire was, it was already out.

"Dang it," Jude sighed, "I thought at least we'd get to enjoy the fire–"

"Then just start a fire, Jude, you can do that," Liddan whined, taking a look around the area to see who was there.

There wasn't much accompanying the fire, meaning that it wasn't a long term camp. Whoever had set up the fire had used it to just warm themselves up for a brief time, maybe cook a meal, then go.

"Do people live out in these woods?" Jude asked, looking around, "Or was it just a hiker?"

As Liddan warmed himself with the remaining heat of the put out fire, he looked around to see for footprints.

He was shocked to see there were none. The melted snow had left plenty of mud, there ought to have been some boot prints somewhere, especially if the fire were so fresh. However, all Liddan could see were Jude and his own.

"This is weird," he said aloud, Jude crouching down by the former fire to try and reignite.

"What's weird?"

"They left no tracks," Liddan whipped his head around, "I mean, what did they do, fly right up and..." At that moment, Liddan lifted his head to look at the trees above, and there he could see a dark figure with two large wings staring down at him. "HOLY–"

Upon its discovery, the winged figure stretched out its two white wings and flew up into the sky.

Jude looked in disbelief, he pointed his hand up and shouted, "Was that an angel?"

"What else has wings like that?" Liddan squinted, "But why the heck would an angel be out here?"

Suddenly, a thought crossed Liddan's mind.

Marigold had few connections left in Fiore, or all of Earthland for that matter. However, one ally she did have were the angels.

"Marigold..."

Jude made a face, "What?"

Liddan started to run, following the angel as it flew through the sky.

Jude called out to him, "What are you doing?!"

At that moment, Liddan had forgotten what he was chasing after it, all he could think about was Marigold. He rushed forward, his head up toward the skies as he tracked the angel flying over him.

Liddan knew he didn't have to keep up with him, he just needed to see where he was going. If he had some kind of hide out there in the mountains then that could be where Marigold was.

When the angel flew to far, Liddan couldn't see it from the ground. Quickly, he rushed toward a tree. With his single arm he began to pull himself up, branch by branch.

As his feet braced on the branch below, he would lunge up toward the next, wrapping his body around the trunk of the tree to keep from falling.

When he reached the top, he could see the angel up in the air. It looks as if it was looking back to him, wondering why he was following.

When they locked eyes, Liddan, he called out "Wait!"

It was then Liddan slipped.

He lost his balance, the branch breaking under him. He tried to grab another, but he found he didn't have the strength in his grip to save him from the fall.

He fell hard. Twenty feet to the ground.

Though Jude was a great distance away, he could hear the sound of the fall. The thump as Liddan hit the ground. He ran toward him, "Liddan!"

As Liddan lay on the ground, unable to move, and unable to see anything but the sky, he could feel the cold wind blowing against his face. It was freezing.

At that moment, the wind's source appeared, and the angel settled down beside Liddan.

Immediately, the angel put its hands to Liddan's body, beginning to heal Liddan.

By then, Jude had grown closer, calling out Liddan's name repeatedly followed by: "You idiot!"

The angel was uneasy as Jude appeared at first, but as Liddan groaned, seeming to come to, it looked down to hear him begin to speak.

"Where's Marigold–is she with you?"

The angel squinted, and finally, after all this time, took off the wrappings around its face.

"I don't know any Marigold," the angel said, but as it spoke, it immediately became clear to both Jude and Liddan that this angel was no woman.

"You're a dude..." Liddan muttered out, his eyes wide in disbelief. "But you're an angel–"

The angel scoffed, "I can be both." He looked up at Jude, and he too seemed to gasp as he noticed the horns on his head. "You're a demon–"

"Ehh–no–no–I'm human–" Jude shook his head, "I swear–we don't mean you any trouble–"

"Well don't you know it's dangerous for you to be out and about–you could get sick," the angel rose from his standing, "the disease can do some cruel things to you."

"No–we know," Jude glanced down at Liddan, who still seemed a bit out of it, "but I'm vaccinated–"

"You're what?" The angel looked in disbelief.

"Uh..." Jude watched as the angel inched closer to him. "It's uh..."

"I think you two should come with me," the angel's wings seemed to retract, "I'm Zeople, you can call me Zeo." He stretched his arm out to Jude, a welcoming smile on his face, "What's your name?"

Before Jude could even answer, he heard the small flap of wings, and out from the air popped Malcon. He glided down beside Jude, too distracted by his heavy load to notice all that was happening.

"Okay, where's Liddan–cuz I'm gonna kill him for making me lug this all the way here!" As he dropped his little sack, he looked to see Liddan unconscious on the ground. "I take it back–"

"He'll be fine," like it was nothing, Zeo picked Liddan up, carrying him tenderly in his arms. "Come on boys, with your friend, we can fly."

━☽【❖】☾━

When Jellal and his hardy crew arrived at Reven, he soon found Ezzie was trying to contact him.

As Jellal answered his lacrima, he was quick to say, "Daddy's coming."

"Othello?"

"What?"

"No–nevermind," Ezzie shook her head, "dad, mom told me you lost it and you're on your way to Reven?"

"I haven't lost it–" Jellal shouted, only to look at the small hardy crew that joined him. He dropped his voice to a whisper, "I haven't lost my mind–I'm coming to help you and Basil–"

"Well it might be for the best," Ezzie sounded nervous, she too whispering, "dad...do you remember...when I first saw red?"

Jellal went quiet, his dramatic declarations quickly dropped down as he seriously spoke to his daughter. "Ezzie are you alright? I thought you had a handle over–"

"Not me dad, Basil," Ezzie let out a sigh, "he just had this look in his eyes...he stole my van and I'm tracking him now but it's not going well."

"I'll be there soon–just hold on," Jellal set down the lacrima, and as he sat at the front wheel of the van, he could hear the chatter from his teammates quiet down.

"What's wrong?" Sorano asked, having heard just a bit on Jellal's side.

Jellal suddenly sped up, the van jolting forward as he sped down the road. "Whoa–" Sorano squinted at Jellal, "An update would be nice–what's wrong?"

"My son's in danger–and I need to find him soon."

Their arrival at Reven came all the sooner thanks to Jellal's reckless driving. He met up with Ezzie after she sent him her coordinates, but he didn't expect to meet him on the side of a mountain road.

She was out on the side of the road, looking over the busted railing. The wind was vicious and cold up there in the mountains, and seeing as Ezzie's only mode of transport was a small dirt bike, it must have been a cold ride there.

"Ezzie–where is he?!" Considering the broken railing, Jellal assumed the worst.

"I don't know," Ezzie said, "I was just following a hunch–"

Suddenly, Othello came spilling out of the van. Literally. The door came open and then came Othello face first.

Ezzie turned, as did Jellal, looking a bit surprised at his sudden emergence.

Pushing himself up, he quickly brushed himself off and then turned to Ezzie with a curt, "Hello, Esmeralda, you're looking lovely this morning."

"Othello–what are you doing here? With my dad? In a van? And...Fidi and Sorano?" The rest of their tender party started to come out, all looking bored from their long trip.

Sorano brushed herself off, patting Othello on the back as she said, "So what are we doing here anyway?"

Ezzie returned her gaze to the side of the mountain. Squinting her eyes as she pointed down to where a collection of trees were left broken. "Last night, we ran off some Howl Caedo goons, pushed them off the mountain."

"Basil did that–"

"No, I did," Ezzie scoffed, offended that Jellal gave him the credit. "But...well..." she pointed to several broken branches to the side, as well as some muddy footprints. "I think someone made it out."

Othello checked the footprints, "If they were the injured ones, I doubt they'd be walking so easily."

Jellal looked down at the prints, he nodded his head to Ezzie to come over. "Recognize those?"

The imprint from the boot was clear, it was a pair they'd bought him at Christmas.

Jellal and Ezzie went down with Othello and Fidi, Sorano insisting on staying up at the top because she didn't want to get her shoes dirty (fair enough). When they reached the bottom, it was clear to them that something was awry.

They could hear the soft groans of someone, and it definitely wasn't Basil.

As Ezzie and Jellal took the lead, they could see someone at the bottom of the hill. Jellal's pace quickened as he heard a startlingly hoarse breath come from the man, but Ezzie lingered behind, feeling uneasy.

Jellal looked to see the man had been dragged out from under the car, his legs were a mess. He was barely conscious, barely alive, and hard to look at.

Jellal squat down beside him, "What happened to you?"

Despite having little breath, the man had the strength to point out at Ezzie and gasp, "That crazy whore happened to me–"

Jellal pressed his hand against the man's chest, and the pain alone silenced him. "That's my daughter," he said, with no further explanation, "let's try that again."

The man rethought his words, and while still glaring at Ezzie said, "She ran us off the road–and then that crazy bastard showed up."

"Basil?" Ezzie moved closer.

"That bastard," he repeated, "put his knife in my wound–I could feel it against my bone–he kept asking 'where is she?'! He was insane–there was blood comin' out of his eyes–"

"What?" This caught Jellal's attention.

"He was sick–I told him what he wanted and he left me here to die!"

Jellal stood up, "Okay, where did you send him?"

"Go to h–"

"If you wanna get out of this alive, you tell us where you sent him!"

The man hesitated, "I don't know what happened when we left the hideout...but our HQ an old church in the woods."

Jellal leaned in, "Which woods?"

With their destination in mind, Jellal had Fidi and Othello pick up the man and any other survivors. As he and Ezzie walked back up to the road, he couldn't help but notice her silence.

Finally, when she reached the top of the mountain, she threw her sword to the ground.

Jellal glared at her, rushing ahead to say, "Esmeralda–what are you doing?"

"Blood from his eyes–" Ezzie turned to Jellal, "dad–why is this happening to him?"

Jellal crossed his arms, "I'm not sure–"

"You said it happened to me because of what happened when I was a kid–I thought it was just some sick PTSD–but is there something more? Is it in our blood–"

"I don't know," Jellal squinted at Ezzie, "we won't know for sure until we see him–"

"I've seen him dad," Ezzie crossed her arms, "I've seen plenty."

The two's tender exchange was interrupted by a rough "E-hem." Sorano was smoking a cigarette, an annoyed expression on her face. "Find what you need?"

"Not yet," Jellal answered quickly. "We're going to the Worth Woodsea."

Sorano snorted, "Takes me back." She dropped the cigarette, "That's not some small little patch of grass, that's a thick set of woods–you think we'll find him there in one afternoon?"

"If we act quick," Jellal turned back to Ezzie, who seemed distant. He looked down at the ground where she'd thrown her sword. Kneeling down, he picks it up and says, "We'll regroup with your team and plan our next move." As he extended his arm out, waiting for Ezzie to respond, he added, "And then the two of us can talk. Properly."

This finally got Ezzie's attention, she looked down at her father and sighed. She reached out and took the sword back into her grasp. She was going to need it.

━☽【❖】☾━

Zeople, or Zeo as he preferred, was a lot more chatty than they expected. Even though they were flying and the cold air rushed against their faces, he was happy to chat with Jude.

When Jude realized that he looked like a demon, he assumed the angel–a male angel who supposedly went extinct because of demons–would find him as a menace or at the very least an annoyance. However, he talked to Jude like they were old friends.

He was actually quite interested in how he got his horns if he wasn't a full demon. However, Jude got the impression that even if Jude were a true demon, it wouldn't have made a difference.

"I didn't know that humans could become demons by–what did you call it–a seed?" He scoffed, "It's a bit odd, don't you think? Just to gain the powers of a demon you'd mutilate yourself–oh–not you in particular, the royal you."

Jude had no idea what he was talking about.

The two were flying, which didn't help. Liddan was being dragged around by Zeo, and Jude by Malcon (who seemed terribly exhausted and almost out of girth).

Liddan was somewhat awake, but Jude figured he was still out of it or he would have said something about being carried princess-style by the gorgeous male angel. He was gorgeous, by the way. Perfect looking.

"ARE–WE–ALMOST–THERE!?" Malcon begged for it to end. He was already sore from carrying all Liddan's supplies, and now he had to carry that plus Jude. He was beat.

"Almost, my exceed friend," Zeo said with a smile. "We're only to approach that mountain there–the caves are where we'll rest!"

As he promised, when they came to the cave open in the mountain, they finally got their rest. Malcon's wings popped like a bubble as he and Jude hit the ground, hardly making a graceful landing. Zeo laughed, folding his wings in as he looked down to Jude. "You remind me of another stranger I met."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, come, come, there's someone you should meet," Zeo still carried Liddan, and as they walked into the cave, they could see a light at the end of the tunnel. "Yazel, my love, we have guests–"

"Tell the bastards to screw off!" A man, presumably Yazel, shouted back. "I've had enough company today."

"They're in need of some help, and they may be able to help you!" Zeo rushed ahead, Liddan seeming to wiggle awake in his arms as he was brought into the room. Zeo set him down on a blanket by a fire, at least to keep him warm.

Jude watched as they ventured further and come into not some damp cave but a home of sorts. It was charming, in its own way. However, in the bed on the far end of the room was a man, a sickly looking one.

He was gruff, beared, and most prominently had long horns. Long horns, they made Jude's look like two little nubs.

"What is this–" he covered his mouth at the sight of Jude, "get him out of here–boy–there's sickness in this cave! Get out before you catch it too!"

"He's vaccinated," Zeo explained, giddy in his voice. Yazel seemed speechless. "I thought you'd be excited."

Jude finally caught onto what was happening. "You're sick? From the virus?"

"I'm more than sick," he sat up in his bed, and that's when Jude saw the man had large wrapping around his arm, or at least where his arm used to be.

The wound was likely fresh, and Zeo quickly explained, "When the infection started, it took over his arm, the black death creeping up his arm slowly. To slow the virus from reaching his heart..."

"You amputated it?" Jude looked at the demon with a feeling of pity. As though he'd come too late, even though he'd never intended to arrive in the first place. "I'm so sorry–"

"Oh shut up," Yazel shook his head. "There are worse fates, one being death."

"But we aren't out of the woods yet," Zeo sighed, and as he looked to see Liddan who lay by the fire. "Is that what happened to your friend?"

Malcon had crawled over to Liddan, or more accurately, the fire. Liddan, however, had just started to come to. Malcon turned around and announced, "Oh, he's alive!" as though it were some big shock. However, Liddan seemed to continue to lay there. It seems he'd been awake for some time, just listening.

He must have been awake because he answered Zeo's question for him. "I lost the arm for different reasons but..." he sat up, looking at the cuffs on his wrists keeping the virus at bay, "I'd prefer to keep my other one. For now."

"Is he vaccinated as well?" Zeo asked, slinking toward Liddan as he lay on the ground.

"No," Jude sighed, "it wasn't ready in time."

"Then..." Zeo looked confused as Liddan seemed to spread out on the ground, he looked completely defeated. He knelt down, "Are you still hurting? I can get you some tea, it helps with the pain."

"You should listen to him," Yazel snickered, "he makes real good tea."

So Liddan picked himself up and took the tea, sitting with the demon and the angel as they discussed the virus and its effects on Liddan.

"I see now," Zeo passed another cup to Liddan, "that demon seed seems to do more harm than good."

"Well," Jude was quick to defend Liddan, "he's one of the strongest people in the guild when he can control it."

"What do you mean when he can control it?" Yazel squinted.

Malcon whispered to the lofty demon, "Sometimes his powers mess with his temper, and things go haywire."

"Bah," the demon shook his head, stray flakes of food slipping from his beard in the process. "Bein' a demon doesn't cause that. Yer tantrums aren't your demon blood's fault."

Zeo squinted, "My love, I think he means his temper causes him to slip up."

Liddan didn't seem to know what he meant. "Huh?"

"Well, it's not that your demon seed causes you to lose your temper, rather your temper causes you to lose control of your demon seed. In you is this great power your human body doesn't know what to do with. It'd come spilling out of you if you didn't try your hardest to control it. When normal, rational things set you off, you...well...the lid pops right off. Like you're boiling a pot and then boom. Everything comes spilling out and you lose control of everything." He turned to Yazel, a hand on his back, "Just like Yazel here, he has to work a little harder at controlling his emotions, that's all."

Yazel grumbled a bit, embarrassed by the sudden wave of attention. However, Liddan seemed numb to what they were saying. Jude glanced at him, a worrisome expression coloring his face, but as he finished his cup of tea he announced, "Uh, Zeo, I don't want to assume, but you brought us here hoping we had a cure for Yazel, right?"

Zeo's smile fell as he looked down, "Yes, it seems...I've reached the limits of my abilities."

He stands up, walking back to where he kept his herbs and teas. "When the Angel Empire was still...alive...every angel knew the basics of medicine. Perhaps if I studied more...but...after his amputation I realized this was more than just any virus. I haven't seen anything like it, only read about it in books."

He pulled a book off the shelf, flipping through it as he shared it with the others. Jude could immediately tell it was a language foreign to him. One he'd never seen before.

"I was still a child when the last of the gods vanished, but the angels were always afraid they'd return, and with them their obscene power." He knelt down, "It seems that day has come, and I was dreadfully unprepared."

Jude glanced at Liddan, who seemed to keep his head down as if avoiding whatever Zeo was speaking about. Mostly because he had the answers Zeo was likely desperate to hear.

Not knowing the demon and angel, Jude decided it was best to keep the information about Marigold to themselves, but he found it easy to change the subject when he saw something wrapped around Zeo's belt. It was a red scarf, and it looked rather familiar.

Jude pointed to it, "Is that...?"

Zeo looked down at his waist, "Oh, it isn't mine, it belongs to a little lass who stayed with us the last night. She left this here, I was actually looking for her–"

"Cinder–"

"Oh that was her name," Yazel said, nodding his head, "I can't say she was very friendly."

"You met Cinder–" Jude shot up, "Where is she?"

"Oh, she said she was headed to this little town across the mountains, had a feeling it was where she needed to be headed."

Liddan squinted, "What was the town called?"

"Pride."

━☽【❖】☾━

As they regrouped, Florence wasn't in the room any longer. Eleanor spoke on her behalf, saying that they should move ahead and go after Madame Indigo.

"But," Eleanor said, "we're gonna split up first, some of us are gonna stay here and get everyone from Salvezza back home where they're safe."

Jellal was quick to get him and Ezzie on the move. They packed up the Fairy Tail van with their supplies.

Othello helped carry things, staring at Ezzie most of the time, but he seemed to be the last thing on her mind.

"Esmeralda," he would begin, watching as she stared ahead, "Esmeralda?"

"What–" she glanced over at him, realizing who she was lashing out at. "Oh, sorry."

There was a long pause as Ezzie turned away. Othello was never a chatty person, even before all that happened with Felicity. However, with Ezzie, he felt like he had a million things to say and they were all coming out at once.

So he blurted out, "Are you mad that your brother ran off? Or are you upset to see that it's not just you who struggled this way?"

Ezzie seemed a bit confused, "What are you getting at?"

There was a tension to her tone, Ezzie seemed just a bit defensive. Othello didn't want to upset her, but he felt maybe if he played the bad guy then maybe she would understand why she was so upset.

"You always struggled controlling yourself, when you see 'red'. And now you're learning that perhaps it's a family trait. Are you worried that maybe it was never something in your control to begin with?"

"I know I can control it," Ezzie insisted, "now, anyway."

"And now you have to relive it all again, but with him."

Ezzie sighed, "I just have a lot of questions..."

However, it was then that the only one who could really answer her questions arrived. Jellal came rushing in, a sack over his shoulder. He was anxious to get moving, and so was Ezzie.

"We should get on the road," Jellal stepped toward the front of the van, but Ezzie intervened.

"Actually, I'll drive," she said, opening the front door to step inside. She put her hand out to take the keys, and Jellal gave them with some hesitation.

When they piled into the van, Othello, Fidi, and Sorano in the back, the entire van was quiet.

After a few minutes of silence, Jellal looked back at the three in the back. They both wanted to talk, truly, but it was awkward with everyone back there.

"Uh," Jellal began, "so...when we find Basil...we should..."

Ezzie sighed, "What dad, what are we gonna do?" She glanced at her dad, who seemed a bit fuzzy on what to say. "What are we gonna do? Talk him out of it?"

Sorano groaned, shaking her head. "Geez, we can hear you two."

"Never mind," Ezzie sighed, turning her attention away from her father and back to the road.

Othello waited a moment, and he realized that Jellal and Esmeralda would never have the conversation they needed to have with him there.

So, he decided to do something about it.

"Cast silence script," Othello wrote the script into the space, Fidi and Sorano looking confused as a magical barrier formed between them and the front.

Jellal and Ezzie watched as Othello gave one final word before getting cut off by his own magic, "Say what you must, we won't hear a–" though his mouth continued to move, it was impossible to hear him."

The silence lingered as Ezzie looked back through the rear view mirror, wondering if Othello's efforts would do any good.

However, Jellal suddenly spoke, "Your mother and I don't like to talk about the tower."

Ezzie glanced over at her father, who seemed rather uncomfortable. He was right, they hated talking about it. The story of how they met wasn't a sweet one, and when she was a kid they didn't tell her the whole truth for a long time.

"I want you to know it's not that we don't think you can take it, it's just...we don't like to relive it. The tower brought out parts of us we didn't know were there. Some for better and some...for worse. I sort of...split in two. Literally, I guess."

"You weren't in control, mom explained that possession magic was used against you–"

"It didn't start there..." Jellal scratched his head. There were some things he didn't like to share. Sometimes it was because he wanted to protect his family, but other times it was just shame. "When my mother died, I couldn't...continue being Siegrain. I had to separate myself into two people when I couldn't keep being the other. I did this for a long time, before and after the possession took place. And I realized, in some way, you and your brother are doing something similar."

Ezzie didn't know what to say, exactly, or what it all meant.

"So what does this mean? Are we some genetic byproduct of your twisted trauma?"

"I can't say for sure," Jellal sighed, "but I'm sorry. I know it's my fault. I should have been able to protect you from this. And Basil–"

"No, dad," Ezzie shook her head, "that isn't what I wanted to hear. I know it's not your fault."

Jellal squinted, "Then what is it you wanted to hear?"

"Maybe," Ezzie glanced at her father, "it would have been nice to know I wasn't alone..."

Jellal shook his head, "You're not alone, not ever."

Nothing was fixed, but Ezzie felt at ease for just a moment. There with her father, she knew that she and him were going to be okay, and so would Basil. Hopefully.