For the Love of a Brother

The Plan Unfolds

The front door came into sight. I needed to leave and think of a way to save my brother... from himself. I'm in way over my head! How could I possibly find my brother while heeding Mr. Yajima's warning?

Maybe if I used magic to climb to the council room... Or maybe I could send a message from outside? I can't just toss pebbles outside his window and expect him to look at me like an old fairytale. I guess I could try using...

My train of thought was derailed when an earthquake shook the entire building. People scrambled to the doorway, frantically pushing past one another while others rushed to the control unit to find the cause of the problem.

I dropped a hand to the ground to feel the vibrations. Earth was an element I usually avoided after the incident with the strange uniformed man at my house all those years ago, but I was taught enough from Terra to know that this quake wasn't natural.

I looked around trying to find the source of the magic. With a glance at the upper level, I saw Jellal magically vanish from Ultear's side and Mr. Yajima's angry eyes glaring daggers at the now empty space. Jellal's evil plan was unfolding now... and Ultear was in on it.

I knew it.

My legs began moving before I even told them what to do. Stop Ultear. Save Jellal. Mages with Spatial Magic started to transfer people outside. In a blink of an eye, Mr. Yajima was grabbed by a Rune Knight and transported out. But not before he met my stare and yelled for me to run.

"I'm sorry, Master Yajima," I whispered to myself. Defeating Ultear was all that mattered. She was so close. Just a few more steps. Everything would be perfect once she's behind bars. The building would stop collapsing. People would be safe. I'd have my brother back. My safety could wait-

"Kimmie!"

I spun in a circle, looking for the person who owned that voice. "Hayato!" His body lied underneath a column that appeared to be falling. Running to him, I aborted my previous mission.

"Hayato, come on let's leave," I exclaimed.

His leg looked badly twisted. Noticing my stare, he answered my question. "It was trampled on in the confusion."

A crack in the column silenced our conversation. "Nevermind that, we have to leave now." I tried picking him up, but he was too heavy for my small stature to carry. "I can't carry you. You have to crawl," I looked for any more mages to help, but they were all occupied with the control system. They were attempting to force the ignorant people away from the controls. One thing was sure: no one was going to help us. I tugged on his arm. "Hurry!"

If only I would've mastered the earth element of Spell-Singer Magic. If only I would've stopped Ultear. If only I would've informed someone of my suspicions.

If only I would've stopped trying to be a savior.

***

The Magic Council building would definitely need to be rebuilt. It wasn't completely destroyed, but it certainly couldn't just have minor reconstruction. I woke up surrounded by rubble and worried faces. Among them, Lahar stared at me with relief and slight anger.

"Jellal was your brother," he said in a hushed tone. I didn't like the tension he created with voice.

Mr. Yajima ran in to lighten the air. "My dear, are you alright? You slept for a good four hours."

My hand rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "I was running toward Ultear," I said, ignoring his concern. "Then I heard- Hayato! Is he here? Is he okay?"

The silence that followed ate my insides. One knight asked who I was talking about and I responded in fury.

"Hayato. Hayato Day." Seeing the knight's continued confusion, I added with disgust, "The errand boy."

The knight's eyes grew wide when he finally realized who it was I was talking about. Mr. Yajima placed a hand on mine. Without words, he shook his head.

"No," I said. "He's okay. You just haven't found him yet. He's strong. He's..." The lies couldn't fool me anymore. "He's... gone." Tears dripped from my cheeks and landed on the dusty ground. They seemed to shatter upon contact. A hand began rubbing circles on my back. I only assumed that it was Mr. Yajima.

The rest of my memory came flooding back:

"Hurry!" I pulled on his arm with more force.

"Kimmie, I-I'm scared. Please don't leave me."

I gave him my best reassuring smile. "I won't, I promise."

The build screamed in pain. Large boulders fell from the floors above us. The ground rumbled from the impact.

"Kimmie," Hayato said. With all the commotion, I could barely hear him. "I lov-"

An arm wrapped around my shoulders and in a flash, Hayato disappeared and a stone struck my head.

My fingers touched the sensitive area. There were a few stitches holding the skin together. Then, a thought hit me. Something Lahar said.

Turning to him, I asked Lahar, "What do mean 'Jellal was my brother'?"

The hand at my back stopped. Mr. Yajima looked at me. I didn't like the pity in his eyes. "When our Rune Knights went to the Tower, one came back to give me this." The item he held in his hand was shiny and oh so familiar.

Jellal's Wizard Saint medallion.

He placed the warm metal in my shivering hand. I took the hem of my tattered uniform and wiped away the dirt, revealing the shiny cross of the Ten Wizard Saints' logo.

The world around me transformed into my old house. I'm trapped in the little cabinet of the stuffy cellar. Jellal's screams are unbearable, but the fear in my heart keep me from rushing out of my hiding spot. One uniformed man lies dead on the ground, while the other knocks Jellal unconscious and drags him away. I run out to follow them, though they're gone. The darkness surrounds me, no light shines anywhere. "Jellal," I say in a weak voice.

"Thank goodness we no longer have that traitor in our Council."

Lahar's comment brought me back into reality. I turned to him with as much fury as my little body could handle before it would explode. "Why would you be thankful for someone's death? Jellal was..." My throat burned from the sobs it tried to contain and my breathing became heavier. "Jellal is my brother. The only family I have. And he's gone." My eyes wandered down to the medallion in my hand. "Why is everyone gone?"

Mr. Yajima made a cry of pain and left my side. The part of his legs that he'd been kneeling on were red and beginning to blister. The sand in the dirt around me turned to glass. My hands no longer shivered, but instead my entire body boiled in fury. Many more members fled from my side. I glanced around at them and noticed a purple-eyed girl staring back at me from the glass below.

"Her eyes have turned purple!" Lahar said in surprise.

"Why are her eyes glowing purple?!" the other man asked with fear in his voice.

The medallion in my hand felt softer than usual. When I looked at it, the edges appeared glossy as if it were turning into a liquid. "No no no..." I blew cold air on the metal to help it regain its shape. I couldn't lose that medallion. Siegrain may have been the one to earn it, but it was all I had left of my brother.

The sobs broke loose. "Jellal!" I cried. Moisture from the air crystallized around me. Once again, I was trapped in the prison of my frozen sorrow. The faces from behind the ice appeared distorted and many were yelling. I couldn't hear what they said. Their mouths moved rapidly. My breath came out in white clouds as my fingers changed colors. The tears that rolled down my face never hit the ground, but instead stuck to my cheeks. The thin air made me drowsy.

My world of ice turned black as one last word left my frost-bitten lips:

"Brother."

Two chapters in three days: that must be a new record for me! Just a little heads up: I plan to change the title of this story. "Kimeala Fernandes (Fairy-Tail Fan-fiction)" doesn't quite roll off the tongue. My new title idea is "For the Love of a Brother" which is what it's titled on Quotev, but if any of you has a better idea, I'd love to hear it.