1 | Ascent [DISCONTINUED]

33 | PLAYING CATCH-UP

UPON RETURNING TO MAGNOLIA, Elvira was positive that it would be a quick trip, in and out, so quick it would be as though she had never been there at all. Even when the wagon broke, she was still confident that her visit would be a short one. Coming into town, the last thing she expected was to be running throughout the streets of Magnolia, dodging fighting Fairy Tail members, while trying to make it to their newly build guildhall. As she ran through the streets, not only was she surprised by the fighting members, but she was surprised by the lack of concern that the townspeople had about it.

          Fairy Tail was destroying buildings, recking outdoor eating areas, and yet people continued with their day. She suspected that they were used to this behavior, and presumed it was normal. However, Elvira knew better, it was anything but normal, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. It didn't take her long to find the location of the Fairy Tail guildhall, after all, she had been there before, though it did take her a second to recognize it. The last time she saw the guildhall, not reduced to rubble that is, it was a simple building, one that while grand in its own right, had a rustic feeling about it.

          The guildhall she stood in front of, however, no longer seemed rustic, but grander, and even castle-like. Elvira couldn't stop her amazement at what the guild was able to accomplish in two months. If she had been there for different circumstances, she would've spent hours marveling at the beauty of the building, but her situation was drastic, so she knew she had to snap out of it and get to business. Focusing her attention forward, she made her way in the guildhall and was immediately met with four familiar people.

          "Gajeel?" she questions upon seeing him butting heads with a familiar pink-headed boy.

          "Ellie?" Gajeel responds, focusing his attention away from the pinkette, and towards her. "What are you doing here?"

          "Hey, I know you!" Happy, the blue cat, exclaims upon seeing her. "You were part of Phantom."

          "She was?" the pinkette questions, looking her up and down.

          "Yeah, she was," Happy confirms. "Don't you remember Natsu? You went to attack her but she stopped you and threw your attack back at you. Then we fought her along with that fire guy before she switched sides and helped Erza fight Master Jose."

          "Hm," Natsu contemplates, continuing to look at her. "Nah, don't remember."

          Elvira watched in amusement as both Gajeel and Happy let out an annoyed sigh at Natsu's short-term memory. Looking around, she took note of her surroundings, noting that the guildhall was empty, and the only people there being Gajeel, Natsu, Happy, and their Master Makarov. She wasn't surprised by the lack of people in the guildhall, after all, she had seen a good number of Fairy Tail members outside sighting.

She was, however, surprised by what she saw standing behind the remaining members currently in the guildhall. Elvira let out a gasp as she saw Juvia turned to stone, alongside other female members of Fairy Tail. Walking past the remaining members, she made her way to the stage and found herself staring at the girls in both confusion and even a bit of anger.

          "What happened?" she asked, turning around towards the four. "Why are they all turned to stone? And more importantly, why are ninety-eight percent of your members outside fighting each other?"

          "It's a long story child," Makarov tells her, letting out a sigh.

          "Then keep it short," she replies, "I got time. What's going on with Fairy Tail?"

          It was then that Master Makarov began explaining the situation to Elvira, doing his best to keep it quick, as they had no time to waste. Elvira learned that the girls who were turned to stone were participating in a contest before they were interrupted by one of their own, who ultimately turned them to stone. They were being used as leverage, being held as hostages by Makarov's grandson who wanted his grandfather to turn over the guild to him.

And the reason why Fairy Tail members were fighting each other was to get to the main four, the ones the needed to stop to get the girls turned back to normal. Makarov himself said he was going to stop his grandson himself, but was stopped by the runes that restricted him from doing so, leaving him to depend on his members outside. However, based on what Elvira was seeing, via the scoreboard on the ruins, the fighting members outside weren't doing so well.

          "No offense Master Makarov, but don't you think it's a little late for your grandson to be going through his teenage rebellion faze?" she asks. "And besides, I get why you can't get out, but the runes say nothing about Natsu and Gajeel, so why can't they?"

          "Beats me," Gajeel says, crossing his arms. "You know, you never did explain why you're here?"

          A part of Elvira wanted to be petty, and not answer his question, or even give him a smart reply, but she stopped herself. Currently, there were people in danger, both in and out of the guildhall. There wasn't time for her to be petty over the crumbling relationship between both her and Gajeel. However, Elvira had to admit that it did bother her that Gajeel hadn't looked at her since she got there.

Sure, he looked at her, but he heavily avoided looking her in the eye. The last time they saw each other, they parted ways in a less than favorable way, after all, one of the last things she said to him was that she hated him. If Elvira could turn back time, she would redo that day, redo it in a way that left them both smiling, and not with frowns and tears on their faces.

          "I'm here on a job," Elvira answers.

          "A job?" he questions, before looking for a guild mark. "You joined a guild?"

          "No," she replies, shaking her head. "It's a delivery job, I work for Yoro now delivering different magical supplies and weapons. I came here to deliver party supplies for the Fantasia Parade, but long story short the wagon broke, then I saw Fairy Tail members fighting, and now I'm here."

          "And for that I'm glad," Makarov says. "Listen, Elvira, was it? I would like for you to do me a favor and help Fairy Tail stop Laxus and the Thunder Legion."

          "Me?" she questions, pointing to herself.

          "Yes," Makarov confirms. "I've heard about you from Erza, and I believe that you are a very capable fighter, after all, you were deemed worthy of S-Class."

          "I know, but-,"

          "Come on!" Natsu encourages. "You would be like our secret weapon! Nobody would suspect you."

          "Yeah!" Happy agrees. "Plus since you're not a Fairy Tail member, you won't get trapped in any of Freed's enchantments."

           Instinctively, Elvira looked to Gajeel, a part of her waiting for what he had to say about the situation. But just as quickly as she looks at him, she looks away. She couldn't look for him for the answer, she had to decide it on her own. Gajeel let her go for that very reason, to make her own decisions, and to stop depending on him to make them for her. If she were to look to him, after weeks of being on her own, she would fall back into her old habits, and everything she built so far would've been all for nothing. Closing her eyes, Elvira took a deep breath before opening them and smiling at Makarov.

           "I'll do it."

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