Fairy Tail; The Sequel

Chapter Five ; Not Again

    "My, oh my.. Is the game is already over?"

    "Is playing with people's lives so fun for you?" she asked.

    "It is fun. Birth and death, after all, are the origin and focus of all emotions. Or to put it the other way around, nothing is more boring than living on its own."

    The boy smiled slyly. "It has been a while, Erza."

    The girl stared defiantly at him. "Jellal."

"Dammit," Erza cursed, looking up worriedly. "He's not waking up."

    "Is he breathing?" Meredy asked, pressing two fingers against the side of his neck. "I think I feel a pulse."

    "Is he breathing?" Skull mimicked hoarsely, shakily picking himself up off the ground. 

    "Shut the hell up," Cobra said, causing another slew of tortured screams from the evil mage. Turning to Erza, he shouted, "Get out of here." Nodding toward Jellal, he continued, "Take him back to the guild. Meredy, Lucy- you guys go." Turning to the remaining Fairy Tail wizards he said, "We'll hang around here. Make sure no nasty surprises pop up."

    "Who made you the leader?" Natsu growled.

    "I did," Erza told him, much to the dragon slayer's dismay. "There better be no fighting when I'm gone. This is serious."

    "Come on," Meredy grunted, wrapping her arms around Jellal's waist and pulling him into sitting position.

    "I got it," Lucy said hastily, grabbing one of the blue-haired man's arms. "Hey, Erza could you grab his right arm. Erza. Erza?"

    "Oh. Right," Erza replied, prying her eyes away from where Skull was writhing on the dusty ground. She knelt down beside Jellal and hooked her arm around his. Blood was slowly seeping through his coat, painting her bruised hands a vivid shade of scarlet. "He's bleeding," she breathed, more to herself than to her companions.

    "You're a celestial mage," Meredy whispered suddenly, her eyes wide. "You should stay."

    "Me?" Lucy exclaimed, as if she had momentarily forgotten who she was. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure the others can handle it just fine. My job is to get you and Jellal to safety." Out of the corner of her eye, she peeked at Erza who appeared to be in a daze. Dazed, but fine. She breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Come on," Erza said, speaking up at last. "Let's go."

Meredy kept glancing back at the blue haired man. 'He took it so much worse than me.' She wanted to break down and cry. 'He has to wake up,' she insisted stubbornly.

Lucy noticed Meredy's worried look and spoke up. "I'm sure he'll be fine." She tried to comfort the two mages, but it didn't seem to work. Erza looked like she was in a world of her own and all Meredy could do was give her a small, vacant smile.

"I give up," Jellal said, his voice resonating against the white chamber walls. "Where am I exactly?"

"Where are you?"  the little boy asked the man, his eyes wide with curiosity. "Where are you, Jellal Fernandes? Where are you?"

"I don't-. I don't know," he replied hopelessly, crouching beside the small child. He could feel his right arm going numb with pain.

"You're bleeding," the boy pointed out. He smiled sweetly. "Let me help."

"No!" Jellal stopped the boy, quickly moving away. "I mean..No, thanks.."

"Who are you?"