A Railgun In Fairy Tail, Book 6: Apocalypse

Ghost Slumberer.

Relentless..crude...heartless. Those were the things that usually  came to Mikoto's mind now when she thought of death. Perhaps it was because she had watched many disgusting heartless enemies do just that, killing just for the fun of it, characters like Zancrow, Diablo, and Night Reveler..

And now, she had killed. For the first time in her life, she had taken a human life. It wasn't as if she thought she was a bad person...She had witnessed her Edolas self, somebody broken by death and relentless killing, turn back into a kind hearted girl who merely missed her mother. But there was still a little bit of Mikoto inside that felt tainted...dismantled...broken. With both the effects of the Mental Intrusion and blood of death on her hands...she thought she might be falling apart...like an old computer stuffed with so much viral software.

"I don't know what I am anymore." Mikoto whispered to herself as she put her hands over her head.

Mikoto was currently sharing a three person tent with Lucy and Natsu. Happy and Elli also stayed in here thanks to their small size making them able to convieniently fit into any small or large tent. Right now, for about the 3rd night in a row, Mikoto couldn't sleep. She sat up awake in her sleeping bag next to the snoring Natsu.

One thing both Mikoto and Lucy had learned to get used to after about several jobs, was the snore of Natsu Dragneel. Sleeping next to Natsu was like literally sleeping next to a dragon, you could just imagine the mountains shaking and the motorcycles pouring out of the massive lizard's jaws.

But Mikoto had managed to get used to it...but now it was her ever growing anxiety that kept her awake.

Next to Mikoto's other side..the sleeping Elli murmured something about Mikoto buying her icecream (She alway's had the cutest dreams in Mikoto's opinion.) And right next to Elli, Happy murmured something about Lucy being too heavy. (A weird dreamer that one.)

As Mikoto watched all her friends sleep peacefully, she decided that she needed some air. She stood up and opened the tent flap, walking out into the brisk nighttime forest, careful not to make a noise as she moved in between the tents and men on night watch.

"Out for a stroll?"

Mikoto's heart nearly jumped out of her mouth and did backflips. She turned around to find Erza standing there in her usual full armor. "Erza! Shouldn't you get some sleep?"

Erza shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. And neither, I'm guessing, could you."

Mikoto sighed. "Yeah...you're right...I couldn't sleep. I guess I just feel.."

"Broken, damaged, like you did something that will change you forever?" Erza finished.

Mikoto felt a little stunned. "Er...yeah...how did you know all that?"

"I've gone through the same thing." said Erza. "That first time you kill someone...and you look straight into their eyes...whether they're good or evil, it's never an easy thing...But you shouldn't think of yourself as damaged...this is war not murder. Either we kill them, or they kill us."

"Erza, how do you do it?" asked Mikoto. "You know...like not feel anything when you kill?"

"You can't do it.." Erza murmured. "It always comes back eventually. The important thing is that you fight through it. Talking about it like we are now tends to help a lot. Have you communicated with Touma lately?"

"I haven't been on the communication's tent in a while.." said Mikoto. Touma, like many other of the Academy City students were currently being urged by their parents to come home. There were many who felt that with World War 5 now underway, it was best that families stick together and prepare for the storm...after the news about Dravis came out, many were calling it the end of the world, both worlds to be exact.