Fairy Tail 1. Chapter 1

The girl slammed the door on her way out, scowling. Those children were downright awful, even though their father was such a nice man. Ever since she had been adopted by the mayor of this small town, she had been an outcast; even in her own house, they didn't really welcome her. The mayor had been so kind to her after she had arrived here, but the rest of the town were cruel to the outsider amongst them. Even the mayor's own children ostracized her for everything she did: for looking different (her silver hair was strange and uncommon), for talking different, for having powers.

'They just resent that I, an orphan from the mountains, have something that the mayor's children, of a privileged upbringing, don't.' She comforted herself with this, though it wasn't much. Letting her angrily crossed arms fall to her sides, she stopped and took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill her lungs. She loved the cold, always had, and probably always will. It reminded her of the time she spent in the mountains, with her mother, Frostecia, the arctic dragon. Those eight years had been happy ones, but had ended far too soon, and she was spending her ninth year of life in this depressingly undiverse town. Walking down the main boulevard, she watched as the townspeople scurried by, each on their own errands that made the little town functional. She had almost made it to the town square when she heard the sound of yelling children, one of which that sounded ominously like her horrid adopted siblings.

She began walking at a faster pace now until she was full out sprinting towards the crowd of children that had gathered by the central fountain. Through the taunting jeers of the town's peoples annoying offspring, she heard the quiet sobbing of a source she had yet to hear. Was there someone that, even in a town this small, she hadn't met yet? No, there was a greater possibility that it was the niece or nephew of one of the village folk, come to visit for a while, being "initiated", as the children called it. They had tried it on her too, but she had beaten the living snot out of the butcher's son, who was five years her senior. No one had tried anything on her again.

The sobbing continued, louder now, but the children weren't ceasing their taunting. This had to stop, and she would be the one to put a stop to it. Easily pushing through the crowd of smaller children (she was a very tall child, long and muscular), she made her way to the center of the crowd. There, trembling on the ground, was a dark haired girl who appeared to be no more than five or six (she was tiny), clutching a small bag to her chest as though her life depended upon the security of the contents. Being careful not to hurt her, she pulled the girl to her feet, and pushing through the crowd, took off towards the woods. The girl continued to sob, and it was really starting to piss her off. What did she have to be crying about? She had just saved her for heaven's sake. She continued to run, until she realized she was practically dragging the girl, who was wheezing. She had forgotten most people didn't have as much stamina as she did.

"U-u-um…" The small girl said. She looked at her with slight annoyance, but decided to at least attempt civility.

"What?" She snapped. The girl flinched and cowered. She kind of felt bad, but the townspeople have never been kind to her. Why should she?

"T-thank y-yo-u," she stuttered. The tears had slowed and it was not her sobbing that made her stutter.

"So? Whose niece are you?" She asked, preparing to walk the girl back to the village, and out of her woods. The woods were _her_ place, not for those townsfolk, and the girl needed to go back to where she belonged.

"I-I-.. S-sorry, I d-d-don't kno-w wh-what you m-" She was interrupted.

"Your stuttering is annoying and incomprehensible. Can't you talk normally?" The girl asked.

"I-I'm s-sorry," was the response. The little girl cowered more. She sighed, and repeated her question. "I-I'm j-just p-assing through.. I-I'm n-not f-fro-from he-here" she sniffed.

"Obviously, so why are you in this village?"

"I J-JUST TOLD YO-YOU WHY I-I'M H-HERE YOU - YOU- MEAT-FOR-BRAINS!" The girl yelled.

The taller girl laughed, and promptly slammed the girl into a tree, holding her there by her throat. "You really piss me off, you know. I didn't ask how long you were going to be here, I asked why you were here in the first place, and with no one else to travel with. I mean, how old are you, five? Six? Why are you traveling by yourself in the middle of winter?"

Loosening her grip on the girls neck, she fell to the ground with a soft thud. "M-my b-business i-is m-my o-own. I-I-I'm p-pa-ssing th-through. I p-planned to b-buy some f-f-food b-before leaving."

"You're traveling by yourself? In winter? What could be so important that you couldn't wait until spring to do?"

"L-l-like I-I s-said, m-my busin-ess i-is my o-own," she said adamantly, holding her bag closer to her chest.

"Listen kid, I just saved your ass from a mob of spoiled brats. I think I deserve an explanation."

"Y-you d-deserve n-nothing. I a-m g-gratef-ful, b-but I-I'm n-not te-lling y-you any-th-ing."

"How do you suppose you're going to protect yourself on your travels if you can't even fight off a couple of eight year olds? Huh? Tell me that, miss my-business-is-my-own."

"I-I'll manage s-so-someh-how. I-I h-have f-for a y-y-year any-" She stopped and looked at the ground, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"A year already! You're like, five! How have you been protecting yourself?!"

"A-actually, f-five and a _half,_ g-get it r-right," she said snarkily.

"Seriously?"

"N-no. I'm e-eight. I c-couldn't s-survive at f-four. A-are you s-stupid?" The girl frowned.

"Only a little," she confessed. The small girl rolled her eyes, but didn't make eye contact with her.

"So tell me, how did the world's smallest eight year old survive an entire year alone on the road?"

"I-I'm n-not s-small! Y-you're j-just h-huge! A-and I h-have-" she stopped, as if unwilling to continue.

Suddenly, there was a howl, and both girls froze. 'Wolves?' Thought the taller girl? 'This close to a town?'

"Not again," the tall girl groaned. "They just keep coming."

The smaller girl shivered. "W-w-wolves?! W-wha-what are w-we going to d-d-do?!"

The taller of the two chuckled, and cracked her knuckles menacingly, grinning like a wild woman. "I'm gonna kick their ass," she said lowly.

"I-is th-that y-your s-solu-tion to e-everyth-thing?" She asked, realizing the question was useless. Of course it was. This chick was absolutely nuts.

The howling was getting closer, surrounding the two of them. The taller girl pushed the small one behind her, backing her up onto the rocks at the base of the mountain. "I hear about, twelve, thirteen, what do you think?"

"W-w-we're g-g-going to d-die, th-that's w-what I-I th-thin-k," she whispered. "A-after a-all th-this t-time, a-and my m-miss-sion is a f-f-fail-ure."

"Mission? What the hell? We're not going to die you depressing brat. I don't know what you're doing, or what you think you have to do, but you've come too far to die here before you've even accomplished your goal. So I'll have to protect you!" The taller girl said, grinning.

"O-okay, miss inspiring speeches. H-how do y-you i-intend to d-defeat th-these w-wolves?" She asked, already thinking of how she could defeat the wolves. Actually, more like run very fast away, but hey, whatever works.

"Don't worry, I'll give them their own personal winter wonderland." The small girl rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, they heard a growl, and out of the frozen bushes came not twelve, not thirteen, but fifteen large timber wolves, lips pulled back, teeth bared.

The smaller girl backed up against the rock, realizing that she was surrounded and trapped, and there was nowhere for her to run. The taller girl, however, just smiled.

"This'll be fun," she said happily, her face a scary grin.

The wolves closed in, and she stepped forward, closing her eyes as if in concentration. The little girl's hands tightened on the bag, wondering if she should open it.

The temperature began lowering dramatically, and the small girl shivered, never been one to handle cold temperatures. She could sense it. There was magic at work.

The wolves crouched down lower, and two of them leaped towards the girls. Suddenly the taller girls eyes snapped open, and the wolves flew back into the woods, yelping as they hit the ground, hard.

Three more of the wolves jumped forward, two flew back into the woods like the first batch, and the third was slammed onto the ground by the surprisingly strong arm of the taller girl. Unexpectedly, his paw flew up, and gashed the girl across her arm, leaving a deep, stinging gash. She hissed in pain, but stood her ground. The smaller girl squeaked and tore open her bag. She wasn't sure if this would work, but she knew she had to help. After all, she was being protected, the least she could do was help in the way she could. After all, this girl was a mage just like her.

Out of her bag she had pulled a large chalice, which she cradled gently in her didn't know its name, or where it came from, but she knew of its power, or at least some of it. She whispered quietly: "Oh magical chalice, grant me the power of red, the color of blood, the color of life. Allow me to use its power to heal my allies." A scarlet magic circle graced her feet, and liquid spilled out of the chalice, enveloping the taller girls arm in a liquid the same color as the magic circle.

"What are you doing? What's happening!?" The taller girl yelled.

"B-be quiet. I-I'm healing y-you. B-be gr-grateful, meat-for-brains," the little girl said angrily.

"My name is Alice, Alice Nomex, not meat for brains." She said as she throttled another attacking wolf. If the other girl hadn't felt so threatened, perhaps she would have found the scene comedic. By now , the wolves had acknowledged them as worthy adversaries, and had backed up towards their alpha.

"Time to end this," said Alice.

The little girl frowned. "I-it w-would f-feel r-rude if I d-didn't t-tell y-you m-my na-me bef-before we d-di-die," she mused. She smiled slightly. "S-so I won't."

"Well thanks a lot, but we're not dying anytime soon. When we end this, you're going to tell me your name." The little girl laughed a little.

"W-well then, l-let m-me help. I-I can b-boost your m-magic." she said. She gripped the chalice before taking a deep breath and whispering: "Oh magical chalice, grant me the power of orange, the color of magic, of power. Allow me to use its power to empower my allies."

Once again, a magic circle appeared under her feet, this time a vibrant orange, the color of sunset. Another strange liquid, the same color as the circle again, shot out from the chalice and doused Alice. She momentarily expressed her distaste at being soaked by the mysterious liquid, but forgot it as the wolves moved even closer. For a moment, she felt stronger. It must have been the strange orange liquid. Stepping forward, she once again closed her eyes, raised her arms into the air. "Secret Dragon Slayer art: Glacier core!"

A blinding light blue light exploded from her fingertips, enveloping the wolves in a strange type of frost. Suddenly, they all began coughing up blood, and eventually keeled over, one by one.

"W-what j-just hap-ppened?" The girl asked. "Y-you.. Th-there's no m-marks on th-their f-fur.. Th-they're j-just… D-dead."

"Told you we wouldn't die. So tell me your name, and I'll tell you what I did to those wolves," said Alice, grinning from ear to ear.

"M-my n-name is Sara," she said reluctantly. "Th-thank y-you f-for, u-um n-not dy-ing." Alice rolled her eyes.

"I don't die. Anyway, Glacier Core is one of my more powerful spells, used for multiple opponents. I freeze their hearts, and the expansion of the stuff makes the heart like, not be there anymore. I don't really know. I haven't exactly watched a heart shatter," she said. "All I really care about is that it can kill a lot of things real quick."

"D-delightful."

"So you're a mage, huh? What exactly does that magic juice glass of yours do? I saw it heal, and I saw it boost my magic. Can it do anything else?" Alice asked.

Sara shrugged. "I-I d-don't kn-ow ev-ery-thi-ng it d-does, b-but I-I c-can h-have di-fferent co-lors that d-do diff-erent th-thin-things."

"Cool. Well, I guess you're not quite as helpless as I thought, but you should really find someone to travel with."

"W-well, y-you c-could co-me w-with m-me," Sara suggested.

"Sure," Alice said just as Sara said "Just kidding." They stared at each other.

"What?" They said simultaneously. Sara blinked.

"B-but m-my mi-ssion w-will take m-me far a-awa-away from t-the v-village. W-won't your f-family m-m-miss y-you?" Sara asked.

"I haven't got any family, so we're all good! When do we leave!?" She asked happily. Sara blinked. They were more alike than she initially thought.

"Y-you r-really m-mean it? Y-you'll c-come with m-me?"

"Sure!" said Alice. "It's not like I have anything better to do. A little adventure is good for you. It could be fun! I'm going to the place I'm staying to grab a few things, you go grab your food, and I'll meet you at the town square at midnight sharp. Later partner!"

Sara watched Alice walk away, and quickly walked after her. She didn't want to risk being left behind. After all, there might be more wolves, and she didn't know the way back.

Well, this was certainly going to be interesting.

Alice walked quickly through the woods, and stopped at the entrance to the village to make sure her soon to be travel partner had made it out. After making sure she had followed, she ran full speed to the mayor's house, on the other side of town. Quietly entering through the back door, she crept up towards the guest bedroom where she had spent the last year of her life.

"Look who's back, the big ugly frost giant. I bet you took that girl out into the woods and ate her, you silver haired freak."

Alice turned around slowly, resisting the urge to beat the living snot out of her adopted brother. At eleven, Rorian Michaelis was loud, rude, egotistical, and absolutely hated everything about Alice. Well, at least she wouldn't be seeing any more of him anytime soon. She would be gone by midnight, and would never hear another childish insult about her 'old lady' hair again. "Come on freak show, aren't you going to go ballistic and eat me too? I heard from mother that you were raised by monsters! That explains why you're so weird."

What the hell, she wasn't going to see him again anyways, so she decided to have a little fun. "Well maybe I will, then." She said grinning."I think I'll start with the hands, its not as if you can throw a proper punch anyways."

She took a menacing step forward, as he backed away in confusion. Though he was four years her senior, she was taller than him, and twice as muscular as his scrawny form. Leaning over him, she licked her lips and flashed her sharp teeth. "Or maybe I should start with the eyes, they look absolutely delectable." She said with a sickening grin.

"J-just, just go die you freak!" he said as he ran off, most likely to tell his witch of a mother what 'that horrible girl' had done to him this time.

She giggled quietly as she walked to her room. She packed a few essentials, some money, and grabbed her wrap from her headboard. The light blue silk flowed beneath her fingers, and she got a pang of longing for her life with Frostecia. But that was over now. Midnight starts a new adventure, she told herself. She had a while until midnight, so she cleared up the room a bit, erasing her presence from the stuffy, overly posh room. As it drew closer to midnight, she tiptoed down the stairs, and out the door. As soon as she was down the driveway, she heard the distinct sound of someone slamming the backdoor. She wondered if they had noticed she was missing, but at this point she didn't care. She walked down center street quietly, slipping in and out of the shadows. Every once in a while she stopped, and could hear the distinct sound of footsteps. She was being followed, and by a child, from the sound of it. As she turned a corner heading towards the town square, she caught a glimpse of her stalker in a shop window. Rorian? What the hell did he want?

She continued on to the town square at a faster pace now, speeding up until she was running as fast as she could. By the time she reached the town square, she was panting, and Rorian was no where to be seen.

"W-why did you ch-choose mi-midnight?" Sara asked when Alice came into view. Alice shrugged. Sara resisted a yawn as she continued to sit on the edge of the fountain.

"Why not? It's as good a time as any to start an adventure, and besides, midnight is a magical time, so it will give us good luck on our journey!"

"You're leaving!?"

Darn it, she thought she had gotten rid of him.

"What does it matter to you, Rorian? You don't even like me."

"Y-you'll die out there!"

"Maybe I will, but it's better than living here with you and the rest of your rotten family."

Sara's eyes widened as she pressed her hands to her cheeks. "OTP," she whispered.

"WHAT" was the in sync response from both Alice and Rorian. Sara giggled and shook her head.

"I don't even want to know," said Alice, suddenly feeling tired. "Let's just get out of here before this loser wakes up the entire town." Sara nodded and stood up.

"Hey! You can't leave!" Insisted Rorian.

Fed up, Alice slammed the smaller boy up against the brick wall as she had done to Sara earlier today, her hands in a firm grip around his throat.

Sara made a small sound and whispered again, "OTP."

"And why is that?" she snarled. "Unless you have the secret to eternal life here, there's absolutely no reason why I shouldn't walk out right now. And so I will." Dropping a gasping Rorian to the ground, she grabbed Sara's hand and walked off towards the edge of town.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the back of her jacket.

"Don't you dare just lea-"

There was an audible crack as Alice's fist connected with his jaw and he went flying back into a pile of barrels, which shattered underneath him. Sara winced.

"Well, he's not getting up for a while, so let's get out while we can," Alice said, continuing to drag Sara along through the streets.

Sara smiled. Alice would be a strong ally. Maybe she was one step closer to achieving her mission. But did she really have to? She liked being helpful, and without her chalice, she was useless. Maybe she wouldn't have to do it right away. Maybe she should put it of for a while. She needed her strength, she told herself, in order to keep her newfound ally by her side. As rude as Alice was, she was strong, and would be a powerful friend in the future.

This perchance meeting between two outcasts was one neither expected could be so influential in both of their futures.


	2. Chapter 2

Looking back on it, she hadn't expected them to have stayed together for so many years, but it had already been three years since that day. Luckily, Sara had dropped the incomprehensible stutter, and instead spoke very quietly. Alice would have probably stabbed her long ago if she hadn't dropped the stutter. They had both grown, but while Alice had always been huge, Sara herself had shot up quite a few inches in the last couple years. Not nearly where she should be, but at least she didn't look like she was five anymore. Her powers had developed as well, thanks to the practice of having to support Alice in combat. While on the road, she had soon realized that Alice's powers were no ordinary ones. She could do things, see things, and even smell things that other people couldn't. She had heard the story of Alice's upbringing about a year ago. At first, the dragons seemed a bit far fetched, but it would definitely explain her tendency to call out "of the ice dragon."

She sighed dramatically. Well, for better or for worse, they were a team now, and they would have each other's backs.

Realizing she had fallen behind her taller friend, she sprinted a bit to catch up, tripping and falling over a large rock that had purposely strayed onto her path. Laughing, Alice pulled her up. They had gotten quite close to each other lately.

"Come on then, shrimp, don't kill yourself before the mission even starts!" She said affectionately.

"I'm just a bit worried," she replied softly. "This is our first S-rank, after all. I hope we don't die…"

"Come on, S, we're eleven now! We can deal with anything that comes our way. We've gone way past those stupid timber wolves. We can take on this Daemon guy no problem!"

Sara smiled. "Remember that time you crushed a wolf's throat with one hand when he was twice your size?" She shook her head. "Unbelievable, you are."

"What can I say, I have a gift!"

"More like you're still a meat-for-brains!" She said childishly.

"You're just jealous because I'm athletic. I have the physique of a god!"

Sara rolled her eyes. "You have the physique of a meaty eleven year old gorilla, miss ice dragon slayer."

Alice stuck her tongue out at Sara. Sara stuck hers out as well, and they both giggled. Suddenly, Sara stopped giggling and became serious. This was an S class mission, and they were joking around. Several older mages had already died to this Daemon. Why should they be any different? They were younger and inexperienced. They couldn't afford to joke around. Alice noticed her serious look and frowned.

"S, don't worry. I'm qualified for this mission, remember? And there's no one else I'd rather have by my side than you." Alice reassured her. Sara smiled. As annoying as it was sometimes, Alice's hubris made her feel better.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "You're right. We're going to defeat this Daemon, and return to our guild victorious."

As they began getting closer to the area in which the Daemon was last seen, Alice's posture changed, and she was more serious and alert. They didn't have much knowledge on it, but she assumed that they would know when they came across a Daemon that ate villages for breakfast.

They had seen Daemons before, but never ones that could cause this much destruction. Not that she was scared or anything, she told herself, but she just had to be careful. She didn't know what was out there, and she was determined not to be surprised by anything.

Sara giggled a bit. Alice's feelings always showed on her face, she was so easy to read. Right now her face was in an uncomfortably concentrated grimace, eyes darting cautiously over their surroundings.

"Now it's my turn to calm you down," said Sara lightly."Something of that power has a presence that we won't be able to miss. I mean, it's not like he looks like a normal human being like me and y-, well, like me."

Alice narrowed her eyes. "Thanks, S. Way to make me feel better."

"I didn't mean it like that, I mean, well, like, you're sort of... Menacing. If a tall, muscular girl with grey eyes, silver hair, and pale skin to match it ran at you, it would be pretty scary. A little bit, Daemon like, I suppose, considering those sharp teeth or yours. But don't get me wrong! You look awesome! I mean, you're still really pretty, I mean, but, it's just kinda, well, unique?"

Alice stayed silent for a moment, and Sara held her breath until she heard laughing coming from her friend.

"You are too funny! So you really think I'm pretty?!" Alice asked with a grin.

"You meanie pants, I thought you were mad at me!" Sara pouted.

"Come on," Alice said with a grin. "This Daemon isn't going to obliterate itself."

They walked along the winding mountain path until they came to a widening of the road and stopped. What they saw was beyond anything they could have imagined. Their map said there should have been a town here. Instead, there was a giant black circular stain on the ground. On closer inspection, the blackness was composed of the rubble of fallen houses and buildings. In the center of it all, was a figure. They couldn't see it very well, but Sara had a hunch that it was exactly who, or what, they were looking for.

"I'm gonna kick its ass," Alice said lowly. Sara whipped her head around to look at Alice.

"Are you crazy?! We don't even have a plan!" She argued. Alice rolled her eyes.

"I do have a plan. It's called: kick the crazy Daemon's ass plan. Details? Kick the Daemon's ass. See? Plan," Alice grinned.

Sara pouted."I don't want you to rush in and get hurt," she said. By now, the figure had noticed them. Sara stiffened and Alice chuckled.

"Seems like he knew we were coming. We shouldn't keep him waiting any longer," Alice began walking forward. Sara gritted her teeth, but she followed anyway. As they grew closer to this figure, they could tell that it was, in fact, the Daemon, and an ugly one at that. Around eight feet tall, she estimated, dark blue, with rigid scales covering its massive, misshapen body. And its face was the most hideous. With squinty red eyes and a sharp, rotting black teeth, it smirked at them. Suddenly, the face froze, and his entire head spun 180 degrees! Sara's eyes widened. There was a face on the back of it's head! This one was just as hideous as the other one, but it had a horrible scowl, and its eyes glowed the same ugly blue as its skin.

"Who dares trespass on my beautiful destruction?! Who dares insult my art?!" The angry face bellowed. Alice twitched, excited at the prospect of a fight.

"It's just a stain. Stains aren't beautiful," the other face said, dropping the smirk. "We should have just killed all the people individually, instead of atomizing them. Blood is the most beautiful art. This has stain has no diversity." The Daemon had turned sideways so they could see both expressions. Sara looked a bit confused, but Alice found it funny.

"Fine, you know what, because I'm nice, you can kill these two, and make them beautiful works of art."

Alice's eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms and the area quickly grew colder. Sara shivered and pulled her jacket closer. She reached for her backpack and drew out her chalice, ready to help her friend.

The Daemon's eyes widened as he saw what Sara had pulled out of her bag. "You! How did you get that?!"

Sara blinked. "Um, I-I j-just h-ave i-it," she stuttered. Alice gritted her teeth. The stuttering always came back near strangers, demonic or not.

The Daemon growled. "You have no idea the power you hold, brat! Now give me that chalice!"

The Daemon lunged forward towards Sara, but was sent flying backwards by a powerful blast of ice. Alice barred her teeth in a vicious snarl.

"Don't you dare come near her," she threatened. Her eyes were as cold as ice.

The Daemon laughed.

"Interesting! So you didn't come here on accident!" They concluded together. Sara's eyes were wide with fear as she took a reflexive step back. She tripped on some rubble on the ground and fell backwards.

"Come on, S. I need you to back me up!" Alice said, attempting to rouse Sara from her fear. Sara shook her head, trying to compose herself. She gritted her teeth when she felt tears well up in her eyes. The Daemon laughed and Alice yelled at him to shut up. She shot her a stoic glance. "Come on S, I need you. I can't do it without you. Without you, I probably really would die! So come on, let's kick some Daemon ass. Together," Alice held out her hand, and Sara took it, allowing her to pull her up. They stood side by side, and they would get through this together. Sara smiled, relaxed now.

"Yeah, because with me, you're invincible," she said with quiet confidence. Alice smiled.

"Well then S, let's go kick some ass."

By now the Daemon had collected itself enough to attack again. It once again lunged for Sara, and Alice jumped in front of her to deflect the Daemon like last time, but it was prepared, and she took a hard hit to the chest, flying back onto the blackened ground.

Jumping up, Alice whipped herself towards the beast.

"Iron Fist of the Frost Dragon!"

It connected with the middle of his chest, and both heads shrieked in unison.

Alice fell to the ground on her knees with a hard thud, holding onto her chest. Sara scowled, spun her chalice in her hand once, and took a deep breath.

"I call upon red, the color of healing!" She murmured. Red swirled in the chalice before shooting and dousing her friend. Alice had gotten used to the weird feeling of the liquid hitting her over the years, and it was a welcome relief now.

She got back up, and the fight resumed.

Sara watched as the two powerful beings launched attacks at one another, some landing, some not.

She wondered if she would ever be able to fight like that.

The wind blew harder, and she shivered as the temperature continued to drop as Alice used her strange magic.

The Daemon had spells of its own, however, and they were pretty evenly matched.

"Double Sided Sword of Mastery!" It shrieked, and the impact hit Alice so hard she once again fell to her knees.

She shakily stood up, and prepared to use one of her newer, more difficult spells that she had been working on.

"Frost Flash!" She yelled, throwing the little flurry that had appeared in her hand at the Daemon.

It hit the target dead on, and a harsh frost enveloped the Daemon who screamed angrily as he felt the cold crawl up him. It grew until the Daemon couldn't move anymore, and resembled an ice sculpture.

Alice cautiously approached it, and after seeing it was properly frozen, promptly kicked it as hard as she could in the chest.

The entire thing shattered into innumerable pieces that rained down upon the wake of its own destruction.

Alice grinned as the surprisingly easy battle ended. "Told you I had a plan."

She held her hand up, and Sara slapped it, grinning.

Alice's knees buckled underneath her, and Sara just barely managed to catch her before she passed out. Sara rolled her eyes.

"Wake up! I can't carry you, Al!" Alice remained out cold. Sara sighed. She would have to wait for her to come to. She laid Alice down gently and sat down next to her. Despite this, she felt content. They had easily taken care of this Daemon. She pushed Alice's hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear, and made sure she didn't have a fever.

She always pushed herself too hard. It was as if there was something she needed to prove, an ambition that most other people really didn't have. Sara had her own ambitions. Alice had always protected her, and so she would make sure that no harm came to her, and she would keep the chalice around long enough to make sure of it.

"That was some impressive magic. Need a hand?"

Sara jumped up as a strange voice came from behind her.

"W-Who are y-you!? And w-what do y-you want!?" She asked suspiciously. A tall giant of a man with chestnut hair smiled down at her.

"I'm just a passing through traveler," he reassured. Sara relaxed quickly, noting his sincere expression and posture. She could easily tell when someone wanted to cause harm. She nodded.

"U-um, y-yeah. I n-need t-to ca-rry-y m-my f-friend b-back t-to o-ur g-guild, b-but I-I'm n-not s-strong en-nough," she admitted. The man nodded and crouched down, eye level with the small girl. He noticed her eyes were rimmed with youth. They were a dark forest green. He noticed the little bags under her eyes.

"Where's your guild?" He asked.

"I-in C-C-Carnati-on. W-we're f-from M-Moonl-ight I-Ins-omnia-cs," she said. The man looked at them in surprise.

"That's a pretty powerful guild you're in, but from what I saw of that fight, you both deserve to be there." he mused. "Must've taken a lot to get in at your age."

Sara shrugged. "A-Alice j-just p-punch-ed s-some-one a-and th-they i-invited u-us. W-we h-haven't do-ne a lot. Th-this wa-s o-our first S c-class mission."

"S class!? You kids?! How old are you anyway?!" He exclaimed.

"Eleven," Alice said with a groan as she sat up. "Who's asking?" Sara blinked before shoving her down.

"You're still injured," she said clearly. "You shouldn't sit up!" The man noted her stutter completely disappeared when addressing her friend. She took hold of her chalice again. "I call upon red, the color of healing."

The strange man watched curiously as the chalice worked its magic, pouring red liquid onto Alice. She coughed and sputtered when it went down her nose. She glared as Sara smirked at her teasingly. He had never seen any magical item like that, even on his many travels. He supposed he would have to ask the master when he got back.

"So you're on an S class mission all by yourselves? Won't your parents be worried?"

"We dont have any parents, creep. We can take care of ourselves," Alice snarled.

Brushing off Sara's protests, Alice pushed herself to her feet.

"And we don't appreciate creepy old men asking about our personal business."

"I suppose you're both fine then," he said, getting up to leave. They would be easily sought after as allies in the future, of this he was sure. He kind of hoped to see them again. If he had observed correctly, they had an insane amount of latent potential.

"U-um, th-thank y-you f-for o-offer-ing t-to h-help!" Sara called after him. "I-if I m-may a-ask, w-who are y-you?" The man looked back with a soft smile.

"My name is Gildarts, of Fairy Tail!" He grinned.

Sara's eyes widened. She had heard of them before. It was a guild that caused quite a bit of trouble for the magical council, but they were rising fast in popularity and status. Sara made sure to bow to him as he walked away with his cloak fluttering behind him. His thoughts included Mirajane Strauss and Erza Scarlet. The two were a few years older than these girls, but they had achieved S rank at nearly the same age. Alice's eye twitched. What a drama queen. Alice grabbed Sara's hand and began dragging her away.

"Let's go get our cash," she said, her eye still twitching. She didn't like how Sara was so trusting of him. Sara nodded and smiled.

"Doesn't the reward include some sort of magic cloak?" Sara asked. "Who should get it?"

Alice shrugged. "Well, I thought since you're a magic item holder, you should get it. I have physical magic, so it wouldn't be a lot of use to me to have a cloak dragging me down." Sara agreed.

They arrived at the client's house easily. The woman who had put out the job offer looked distressed.

"I was worried about sending you children in against that monster! Did you do it?!" She asked. Alice laughed.

"He was a weakling. I eat things like him for breakfast," she grinned. Sara rolled her eyes. The woman smiled.

"Very well. I'm proud of you both. Here's your two million jewels, as promised. And the cloak, too," the woman said as she handed them a heavy bag of currency. "I'm not really sure what it does, as it was an old magical item belonging to one of my sons, but I hope you'll put it to good use." Sara had felt a little weird about the woman being proud of them, but she easily shrugged it off.

Alice grinned as Sara clasped the cloak on. The small girl scowled when she realized it was a little too long on her. She began bunching up the cloth to make it fit her when Alice spoke. "Well then, S, now that we've completed our first S-class mission, I think we should celebrate in the best way we know how."

"You don't mean-"

"I do mean."

"BUFFET!" They screamed in unison, even if it seemed out of character for the shorter dark haired girl. She had a huge soft spot for food.

"Can we go to that one buffet?" Sara asked. "The one with all the different foods from all over?" Alice grinned.

"I've heard they have really good food. " Alice admitted.

"I really want to try these things called breaded rice balls. They're warm balls of rice and cheese covered in breadcrumbs and deep fried."

Sara used her sleeve to wipe away the drool that was beginning to appear.

Alice laughed. "Sounds like my kinda place. Let's head out!"

**Authors' note: Hello folks! Pleasure to meet you. We are mater-in-filium. Before anything else, we would like you to check out our profile page and vote on our poll. We need names for OCs, and we need three of them. Well, besides that, we formally welcome you to **_**Faires or Foes?**_**, a Fairy Tail fanfiction centering around - you guessed it - Sara and Alice. Review if you enjoyed, or even if you didn't. We thank you for either.**


	3. Chapter 3

After their first S ranked mission, everything else had been easy. A year had passed since then, and they were both twelve; there was little of consequence that had changed, though there were a few small things… They went on missions, killed things, got money, and went home to the guild. Nothing more, nothing less. They had gotten stronger, much stronger after that mission, and now had quite a reputation. The only thing that really bothered Alice was the new guild master. Not that she had anything against dark guilds, but she had been rather fond of the previous one. The train rattled as they shot down the tracks towards their destination. Sara had her head on Alice's shoulder, eyes closed, taking a light nap. Alice stared out the window, watching the scenery melt by her.

They had another S rank; that's all they seemed to get these days. Nothing else was challenging enough. Luckily, nothing bad happened to either of them, thanks to Alice's physique and Sara's rapidly advancing magical power.

Alice was scary herself, but sometimes Sara just terrified her. The amount of power she wielded in that chalice. She really wondered what it was, and where it came from. Sara still wouldn't tell her, and Alice doubted she ever would.

The cloak they had gotten a year ago from their first S rank turned out to be an old piece of cloth that slowly regenerated magic, and proved useful for Sara.

The train eventually slowed to a stop at a little village by the ocean. Alice gently shook Sara awake, before they strolled out of the train. It whistled, then sped off to its next destination.

Sara squinted at the ocean. She had never seen it before, and judging by Alice's face, she hadn't either.

As they exited the station platform, so did another group of people, looking to be about the same age as them, maybe a little older.

"Levy-chan, look! The ocean is so pretty!" A boy with orange hair exclaimed. "Makes me wanna go out on a run!"

"Levy-chan, let's go on a date!" Another boy with black hair interrupted. A blue haired girl sighed dramatically.

"C'mon, Jet, Droy. We have a mission to do. We're not here to relax!" The blue haired girl scolded. The two dubbed Jet and Droy sulked. Sara blinked at them, noticing their guild mark. She tugged on Alice's shirt.

"Al, those three are from Fairy Tail," she whispered, slightly worried. Alice cracked her neck and stretched.

"So? They don't look that tough to me. C'mon, we have work to do," she said simply. Sara nodded before looking back at the other mages.

"I wonder if they know Gildarts," Sara suddenly said. Alice scowled.

The blue haired girl had noticed them. Alice had chosen to go sleeveless today, so their guild mark was plain to see. It was a light grey crescent moon with a spider web in the center. Moonlight Insomniac's mark. Levy's eyes widened as she looked at Sara and saw the same symbol in light blue peeking out of her collar.

The girl quickly alerted her teammates about the potential threat, and the took a defensive stance.

Sara narrowed her eyes and began to open her bag, btu was stopped with a wave of Alice's hand. "Sara," Alice began loudly. "These fairy trash aren't worth our time." Sara hesitated, but nodded.

The girl looked infuriated, and the boys prepared to fight. It seemed almost comical, this stand-down between three teenagers and two preteens. Though Levy was older, Alice looked more intimidating.

"They're from a dark guild!" One of the boys said. "Only horrible people are in dark guilds, and it is our duty as official mages to defeat them!"

When it appeared that the Fairy Tail mages were going to attack, Alice stepped forward, the temperature dropping, as was the norm with her magic

"Alice," Sara urged. "Let's just go. You said so yourself, they're not worth our time!" Alice sneered.

"Fine. But next time they say something bad about you, I'm gonna kick their ass," she said, dramatically turning and walking off.

"I apologize for her attitude. I hope you all have a good day," Sara bowed before chasing after Alice. Levy, Jet, and Droy stared after them in confusion. Had they just been apologized to? From a member of a dark guild?

"We have to meet with the client. C'mon, shrimp," Alice smiled at her as Sara - for once - caught herself as she was about to trip.

"Stop calling me a shrimp, you gorilla," Sara pouted. Alice chuckled and ruffled her hair. Sara's pouting only increased.

The client's meeting spot wasn't that special. It was a corner in the town's bar. They were almost not let in until they showed off their guild marks. The sight of the mark of a powerful dark guild on a child was something the inhabitants of the bar had trouble believing.

"I see you've arrived, Insomniacs," a man in a hood beckoned over to them. Alice shrugged and plopped down at his table. Sara followed, though she was reluctant. The smell of alcohol in the air was thick, and she frowned slightly. She had always hated alcohol.

"Yeah, we're here. You the client?" Alice asked, getting right down to the point. The man nodded.

"I need you to... Take care of this town's official guild. The trash won't let me do my business. I need 'em gone. The reward will be pretty hefty, and a cut every now and then. Yeah?" He explained. "They're holed up in their barn of a guild hall. Takin' it on?"

Alice nodded and leaned back in her chair. "Why not? Let's knock some officials straight to hell," she said, grinning maliciously. Sara stared at the man before placing the flyer she had torn off the guild's request board.

"As mentioned on the flyer, the reward also includes lacrimas. Does this hold true? If not, we'll have to hold you accountable for false advertisement," Sara quietly threatened. The man seemed a little nervous.

"Well, li'l lady, I do have to say! You leave no rock unturned! Yeah, them lacrimas are still a thing. Completely empty, though," the man admitted. Sara smiled.

"Empty? Good. I had been searching for some of this quality!" She said excitedly. Alice rolled her eyes at her.

"Anyway, I want directions to this 'barn of a guild hall,'" Alice mocked. The man nodded.

"Certainly, missus…"

Minutes later, they were at the 'barn', and it really did look like a barn, if one squinted and turned their heads slightly. On the large doors was their guild symbol: a white heart with folded wings. The two blinked before pushing the doors open.

"Oh, oh, welcome! More of our kind!" A shrill voice called out. Sara flinched while Alice looked impassive. A large man- wait, woman? Oh no.

"Oh my god, this lass has great taste!" Another one said. Sara wanted to run and hide. She had nothing against crossdressers, but this group seemed a little too ostentatious. They crowded around Alice a moment. Sara counted "You're a boy dressed as a girl, aren't you? Oh, it's so good to see young'uns stretching their wings!"

Alice realized they had basically just called her a boy and hissed angrily. She pointed to her guild mark. "Yo, I'm here to kill you."

The group quieted down. They looked at each other seriously. "Child, killing is a grave sin. You do not want blood on your hands. It is a guilt that even adults cannot seem to shake off."

Alice laughed bitterly. "Grave sin? Blood on my hands? Too late," she grinned.

"Frost Flash!"

The man (woman? which was more polite? Sara didn't know how to address them and she was getting frustrated) who seemed the centerpiece of the guild was the victim of her attack. She dashed forward and smashed her icy target, killing him (her) instantly. The guild members immediately rushed Alice, but she was prepared. With a smirk, she dashed at the nearest one. The room was already getting colder. Sara quickly took her chalice before the lesser cold of a blade was pressed to her throat.

"Al," she squeaked. Alice froze and turned to see Sara in the hands of one of the guild members.

"Though you killed our guild master, you both still are children. You wouldn't disregard her life so easily, would you? No matter how dark your guild is," the captor said. "We want to know who hired you."

Alice sneered. "Sara, how long are you going to play around like that?" She bluffed. Sara smiled.

"I was just about to get to it. No need to rush me," she said as she gripped the chalice tightly. Now, how was she to do this? Oh. "Orange, strengthen me." She was splashed by the weird orange liquid, much to the surprise of the attacked guild. Sara felt a surge of power and knew her magic was at work. Alice blinked in surprise. She just hoped to catch the guy off guard with a bluff, but instead, Sara had caught her off guard.

Sara gripped the guy's (gal's) arm and threw them over her head. She blinked afterwards. "Well, that's effective," she murmured. She balanced her weight on her toes, ready to trip over air. Alice cackled.

"That's my S!" She called out as she punched the person that Sara had thrown. She scowled at him darkly. "Don't. Ever. Touch. My. S. Again," she spat. "Iron Fist of the Frost Dragon!" The person's face was no more. Sara took a head count. Fourteen left.

"Green, drain them!" Sara called. The three guild members that had been hit by the green liquid staggered. Their magic energy was drained, and the green liquid washed over Alice; She flexed her fingers as she felt her supply regenerate. She stretched happily.

"Thanks for your magic," she grinned. The members of the guild looked at each other. They didn't know who was the greater threat was, the tiny girl with the powerful chalice, or the mountain size beast of a child who so easily had ripped their fellow guild members apart.

A few of the members turned their backs and tried to run out the back door.

"I wouldn't look away from me if I were you," Alice drawled darkly. "Roar of the Frost Dragon!" A swirling ice storm washed over the three that Sara had hit with her green liquid. They were still recovering over the shock of their magic draining so quickly they couldn't dodge. They didn't die, so Alice jumped over to finish them off. She was blocked by a huge drag queen with a nice looking halberd. Alice scowled at him. She jumped back before taking a quick glance at Sara to make sure she was still okay. Sara had made sure to stay a reasonable distance from Alice. She was easily cold, after all.

"Orange, strengthen her," Sara murmured tiredly. She didn't know what was wrong with her suddenly. She had used the chalice's magic more times in a row than this easily. Alice felt the liquid and noted the orange substance dripping on the floor. She laughed and punched her fist while smirking.

"Time for a taste of your very own winter wonderland," she drawled. Sara grimaced. That line was still so very lame.

Alice kicked off and punched the halberd. The queen was surprised by Alice's target before she saw her halberd shatter. Her eyes widened before ice claws materialized on her fingers.

"Ice Talon," Alice murmured before the queen's throat was releasing blood. She fell to the floor. Sara noted the number: thirteen.

Alice went uninterrupted to the three that were incapacitated. The other ten watched in fear as Alice simply stomped their faces in. When Alice turned to face them, they paled and froze. Count: ten.

"D-Daemon," one stuttered. Sara covered her mouth to prevent her from laughing. She wasn't the only one who thought so, after all!

"Yeah, well," Alice said casually, cracking her knuckles "It doesn't matter much to me what others think. I have my reason for living, and you gals have yours. It just so happens our reasons clashed. Mine was stronger. No offense."

Count: zero.

The two girls returned to the bar victorious. They reached the man's table and Sara offered him the mark of the guild they had just destroyed. More precisely, the one that was on the door. He looked at them in shock. It had only been three hours since they left.

"The building is currently burning. Even if the fire is put out, that doesn't change the corpses," Sara said. Alice smirked smugly.

"Reward," she said simply. The man nodded quickly. He had heard of the two children from the Moonlight Insomniacs, but this was just crazy. "Also, this was nowhere near an S-rank. But we'll let you off the hook this time," Alice smiled, showing off her sharp teeth. The man nearly spilled the Jewels as he almost threw them on the table. Alice cooed; the big sack of money was always so very comforting. The man placed the lacrimas on the table more gently, and Sara pushed them into her bag promptly. The two took their leave of the bar, headed towards the train station.

They froze. It was heavily guarded with members from the Magic Council. Alice sighed, tempted to just kick their ass and get on the next train. Sara was the voice of reason. They decided to walk. As they began to head out of the village, Alice heard a small thump, and as she turned around, she saw Sara sprawled face first into the ground. Panicking, she scooped up her smaller friend into her arms and ran to find the local doctor.

After getting directions from some terrified looking villagers, she arrived at a small stone cottage and knocked on the door. A small old woman answered. She took one look at the Sara and started barking out instructions to a small ginger girl behind her who Alice hadn't even noticed. Alice laid Sara down on the bed the old woman instructed her too, and paced nervously while the old woman poured herbs down her throat and thoroughly examined her for injury. After a while, Sara slowly opened her eyes. Alice sighed in relief, but was promptly hit on the head by the old woman.

"She put too much strain on her body! You are much bigger and stronger than her! You should be doing things that cause strain, not her! I can't even think of something that would put so much stress on her small bod in such a short time as the injury and fatigue could have been inflicted!" The old woman scolded. Sara then realized what had happened.

The stupid orange liquid, Alice realized, was the cause of all this. When she used it on Alice, she was fine, but that was because she had a dragon slayer's physique. Sara had a normal, if anything frail, body. When she had used the magic on herself, she had overstrained her body. Alice made a mental note to explain to her thoroughly that she was NEVER allowed to use her chalice on herself, or so help her she would melt the damn thing somehow.

The old woman continued. "She will have to stay here tonight so I can make sure she heals properly. Do you have a place to stay in the village?"

Alice frowned. "No, but-"

She was cut off by the old woman. "Then you shall have to stay here tonight. You can stay in a room with my assistant, Ronia. There's an extra bed in there."

Alice hesitated, then agreed.

She guessed they were stuck here for now.

They next morning, Alice woke up early and went downstairs to check on Sara.

She found both the woman and Sara already up.

"Ready to go?" She asked Sara, nervous to get out of the now guard infested town.

Sara nodded.

They paid the old woman, and after promising to be careful, snuck out of the town by climbing up a cliff near the eastern edge. Well, Alice climbed and Sara clung onto her like her life depended on it (which once they had gotten high enough, it was).

They then headed onto the forest trail to the next town so they could take the train to a location much closer to their guild.

They didn't get far in a forest when Alice stopped. Sara looked nervous from her perch on Alice's back. The doctor had told them Sara was not allowed to walk unless absolutely necessary. Up ahead was a familiar head of chestnut hair.

"I must say, I'm shocked. The two girls who went on that S rank one year ago are top members of a dark guild. There's a bounty out for your heads, dead or alive," Gildarts drawled. Alice scowled.

"Out of our way, fairy."

Gildarts tilted his head. "I'm afraid not. The only way you're getting past me is by force," he replied smoothly.

Alice scowled as she gently set Sara down on a rock. "S, stay here. I'll take care of this guy by myself."

"A-are you sure, Al? Gildarts is famous! He's super strong!" Sara protested. Alice pouted.

"In case you've forgotten, so am I!" she boasted. Gildarts watched them quietly. Those weren't the traits of heartless monsters in a dark guild. He would have to talk to the master. For now…

"Why don't you both join my guild?" Gildarts offered. Alice burst out laughing.

"Hell no, you old bastard!" She denied. Sara looked like she found the concept puzzling.

"Your invitation is denied, baldie," she said simply.

"O-old? B-baldie?" Gildarts sulked. Alice's fingers twitched and the air grew cold.

"So you said the only way forward is by force. Well," she paused. "That's what I'm good at!" She charged. Gildarts blinked, surprised at her speed. She had gotten mucher better in the year between their meetings. He dodged quickly.

He threw a haphazard punch, but as expected, Alice dodged it. She noticed the tree behind her explode. She looked at him with shock before Sara squealed.

"Mini trees! Itty bitty baby trees!" She picked one that had landed near her up carefully and Gildarts watched her grow serious. "Don't get hit, Alice. Gorillas shouldn't be itty bitty."

Alice scowled. "I got it, shrimp. Though if you got hit, it wouldn't matter!" She cackled. Sara scowled at her.

Alice slugged him sloppily, but Gildarts simply took it. Alice's eyes widened when he didn't even skid back. She grinned maniacally. A challenge! Sara looked on, worry evident in her eyes.

What Gildarts couldn't understand was why these two were in a dark guild. It absolutely befuddled him. He had also heard of the infamous children of the Insomniacs, but he didn't believe it. He still couldn't. Those sweet girls from a year ago? Gone. They seemed completely different. What he didn't realize was a dark guild gave them the free reign they yearned. Alice despised rules normally, so a dark guild wasn't too big a deal. Sara, well, just went anywhere Alice did.

The two mages exchanged punches. Alice's seemed ineffective, while Gildarts's were dodged. Alice eventually jumped back, panting. Her grin only widened.

"S, I think I might have a real challenge on my hands," she exclaimed happily. Sara's face was impassive.

"Be careful," she pleaded. Gildarts, again, watched. Those two were like family. Two halves of a whole. Sara's hand was anxiously on her chalice, Gildarts noted. He was surprised to realize that even though he was moderately serious, Alice was holding her own. She had yet to pull out any magic, though. Gildarts was just using the miniaturize spell for now.

"Ice Talon," Alice murmured. Her fingers were coated with sharp ice. Gildarts was wary. Now that it had escalated from punching, he had to step up his game. Alice zig zagged around him before throwing herself at Gildarts. The man lifted a hand with a serious gaze. The ice shattered. Alice quickly used Gildarts's chest as a springboard and jumped off him, landing next to Sara.

"S, I think we should just freeze him and go around, this guy is just as much of a monster as I am," she said, observing Gildarts carefully. Sara nodded, but before she could speak, Gildarts did.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, girls. Like I said, you both have bounties on your heads," Gildarts reminded. Alice grimaced. "So either turn yourselves in, or -"

"Who the hell would turn themselves in?!" Alice shouted. Sara smiled and tugged on Alice's shirt.

"You know how we could thoroughly thrash him," Sara offered. Alice thought this over.

"Yo, old man! I'm gonna cheat, aight? 'cause I got no intention of losing here to the likes of an old fairy bastard!" Alice called out. Gildarts seemed to sulk at being called old. He wasn't old!

"It's not cheating, Al. I'm not a cheat," Sara pouted. Alice ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Having you by my side is like god mode," Alice grinned. "Though if I had to choose between your magic or your company, I'd choose your company."

Sara smiled slowly. "Thank you, Al. You're the bestest friend I could ever have." Alice gave her a thumbs up. Sara lightly traced the chalice before sighing. "Orange, strengthen her!" Alice dripped with the orange liquid. Gildarts watched carefully. He had only seen red. He noted that Sara's spells had gotten faster and more effective, but he'd only be able to compare if he saw red at work. He also noted that Sara had not moved from that rock, and that Alice had been carrying her. Could she not walk for some reason?

Alice flexed her fingers, relishing the increase in her power. Sara watched Gildarts warily, wondering if she could pull off a green on him.

"Green, drain him!" Gildarts couldn't destroy the magic coming at him, and was shocked to feel his magic power rapidly decreasing. He shot forward, aiming for Sara. She squeaked and tried to duck away. Too late did she remember she couldn't walk, and pushed herself off the rock roughly. Alice promptly scooped her up and bolted, intending to get as far away as she could. Unfortunately, Gildarts wasn't having any of that.

His magic scalded Alice's back and her knees buckled. Sara's eyes widened as she nearly dropped her chalice. "Red, heal her!"

The wound rapidly closed and Gildarts's eyes narrowed. As he thought. Sara had improved so much in only a year. He looked at her cloak before recognizing the inscribed runes on the hem.

He couldn't win this fight by endurance; Sara would drain him, and her own magic would regenerate. He had to knock her out first. However, Alice was the biggest obstacle there. With Sara, Alice was a super soldier. He couldn't get to Sara with Alice interfering, and Alice wouldn't go down with Sara still up. He was only a tad bit faster than Alice, so he couldn't count on that.

And he already knew Alice would jump in front of any spell meant for Sara.

He was fighting an impossible battle against possibly the best tag team he had seen in all his years of travel. There was no way he could win, but then again, there was no way they could win either. They were at a magical standstill. And they were only children. He shuddered to think what they might be like as adults.

Alice gently set Sara down at a further location, and rushed back into the battle.

Sara closed her eyes. She had no idea where this fight was going to go, and that scared her.

She kept them closed, listening to the sounds of the battle around her. It seemed to go on for hours. She knew Gildarts was strong, but she trusted Alice. She knew she would protect her.

Suddenly it went went deadly silent. Sara opened her eyes, and almost in slow motion, saw Alice fall to the ground, defeated.

Her eyes welled up with tears. This couldn't be happening. No, no, NO! She had promised! Promised to protect her no matter what! She looked over at Gildarts, and saw that he too, had fallen, but was slowly getting up.

Despite being told not to walk, Sara stumbled over to Alice. It was slow and agonizing for her as she felt the full brunt of the aftereffects of her own magic. She reached her friend and collapsed at her side.

"Al, no, no. C'mon! Get up!" Sara felt tears welling up in her eyes. The last time she had felt so horrible was the day she met Alice, when the kids were teasing her. "You promised me! Don't break that promise! Don't do this to me, to us!"

Gildarts slowly rose from his faceplant in the ground. He watched the tears overflow from Sara and decide that hell, he couldn't do this now. He had just made a big enemy out of not just those two, but an entire dark guild. He decided to try again some other time. Perhaps their circumstances would change a little. Besides that, he didn't know how he would capture them. He had technically won the battle, but he could barely walk, and one of the girls was still technically standing, and he still didn't know the extent of either of their powers. For all he knew, in thirty seconds Alice would be standing and ready to fight again, and then he wouldn't be able to ward her off. It was best for his safety to forfeit and leave now.

When he had stumbled back to the guild, a pink-haired boy was immediately at his side. A white haired girl followed with a smile.

"What happened to you?!" Natsu asked almost panicked. The master looked at Gildarts who smiled sheepishly.

"I met Sara and Alice again."

The guild wouldn't understand this until several years from now.

**Author's Note: Hey vote on our poll and make sure to like, favorite, and subscribe to our channel. We put out new chapters every Sunday. ~co-owner Arts~**

**Please please please review, it makes us much happy and motivates our writing! Also make sure to check out some of our other stories, if you like that sort of thing. *winks***

**~co-owner Eon~**


	4. Chapter 3 and a half

Rorian had to admit: he missed her.

The strange girl his father had adopted after she wandered into the village. He remembered with clarity the day she left, and how she punched him. She nearly broke his jaw.

But still he missed her.

Four years had come and gone. He had wanted to see her again, and he knew she was a mage. If he learned magic, he would be able to cross paths with her again. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. He didn't know what happened to her. He didn't know if she was dead or alive. Well, until the wanted poster was on the town billboard.

Rorian would know that smirk and that silver hair anywhere. It was Alice. He recognized the girl that was dwarfed by her in the photo. The girl Alice left with. They were from Moonlight Insomniacs, the notorious dark guild.

That's when he fully immersed himself in studying magic. Nothing seemed to suit him until he found sound magic.

It was subtle, it was meticulous, it was almost underhanded, it was annoying and arrogant, and it was so _him._

The magic just seemed to click with him. Eventually, his own father begged him to stop, as he was reading about magic morning to night. If it wasn't that, it was news on Moonlight Insomniacs. He had to know more about Alice.

And then the day came when he, at sixteen, decided to leave his home town in search of how to increase his chances of finding Alice. So, he joined the ranks of the magic council. Despite his young age, he easily wove his way up through the ranks of the council, until he found a position suitable for his goal.

As a dark guild hunter, he had access to secret files about dark guilds, their members, where they were located, recent crimes, et cetera. However, there was virtually no data on Alice, or her small companion, save the numerous files on assassinations they had carried out. There was no background, no family, no power profile, nothing.

But he was determined to find her, and so he made it his mission to take down Moonlight Insomniac. He had spent months tracking the dark guild, but still had no idea where they were, who ran them, and where they got their missions. There seemed to be no organization at all to the guild. No one had any information on them, of course, except for the fact that they were evil, and he had never captured one of their members to interrogate.

The closest he had gotten was about two months ago, in some coastal town. He had gotten a tip from some Fairy Tail brats that two members of Moonlight Insomniac were in town, apparently on some sort of a mission. Two adolescent members, one with silver hair. He had immediately dispatched as many troops as he could to the area in the hopes that he would be able to catch her, even just catch a glimpse of her.

What he found when he finally arrived in the city was a guild burnt to the ground, all of its members horribly disfigured in death. And he knew she had done it. Only she could do something like this. But she wasn't there anymore. She had slipped through his fingers once again. Only after a few days in the village did he get the report of what had appeared to be two girls climbing up a cliff. But it was too late. He doubted that she knew he was hunting her.

Rorian Hawthorne was frustrated. But he knew his efforts would not be in vain. Someday, he would meet her. Someday, he would see her again. And this time, he wouldn't be overpowered. He had his own magic now, and he intended to use it. Someday, he would defeat her, once and for all. Or at least thats what he kept telling himself his ambition was.

AN: There you go, it's the OCxOC that happens in the story. We, as usual, will update every sunday with main chapters, but any side chapters, authors letters, etc, will be released on wednesday every week, as we like to keep to a schedule. XOXO, ~co-owner Eon


	5. Chapter 4

Jax wasn't, from the very beginning, a guy who liked normal boyish things. As a matter of fact, he often preferred girly things. Loved them, in fact. They were so much more elegant, prettier, and he looked much better in them. His parents however, preferred that he dressed like a normal little boy, preferred being an understated term.

The fact that their little boy didn't like the things all other little boys liked scared them, and they tried to force him to conform, to brainwash him. So eventually, he started dressing like that in secret, hidden away from the conformed world of his parents. He had started out with what every princess starts out with, the color pink. But eventually, he grew tired of such a cliché color. It had no meaning, no depth. And so he began wearing darker colors, to express the pain he went through by, well, not being able to express himself. Eventually, he settled on a color he found very elegant, albeit appropriate for his situation; black.

One day, he was in his room, working on his latest acquisition, a torn black ball gown that he intended to turn into a pinafore dress. Halfway through the project his father walked in on him. Seeing what his son was doing, he exploded, yelling the most horrible things about him.

Deciding not to stay around to see what happened next, he ran out of the house. Hours later, he returned through the back gate, and looking in the window, saw his parents in the kitchen, chatting happily as if nothing had ever happened, his little sister toddling around the floor happily. That's when he realized, they didn't even look for him. They didn't mind when he wasn't there. In fact, they liked it better. He wasn't needed, wasn't wanted.

So, he left. After having enough of the beatings and bleeding, and the scars he now had, he went off to be free. He went to the forest, where he discovered his talent.

Magic.

Jax had a knack for animals. When he had played in the woods as a small child, the animals had often played with him. They had been his companions, his friends. He would play with the wolves, sing with the birds, and nap with the leopards. With the bears, he would eat honey and go fishing. One day, he was walking through the woods, and would have fallen off a cliff, had it not been for the wolf that had grabbed him by the collar just before he fell.

Later that day, Jax realized that when he had yelled "Save me!" as he fell, the wolf had heeded his command. Jax was a beast master. He could use this to his advantage, and often did. Jax was content. He had help building a half crumbling house in the middle of the woods for a comfortable place to stay, help finding food, and general companionship. He felt happy and safe, and for the first time, he could be himself. The weeks passed, and Jax's thirteenth birthday passed as well, if he kept track of time right.

Then, one day, he heard a loud voice coming from one of the many clearings in the woods, one that sounded as if it belonged to an angry boy. They seemed to be arguing with someone Jax couldn't hear. He summoned a wolf pack in case of danger, and stealthily approached them. He could see they were mages; they had the same guild mark: a crescent moon with a spider web. The shorter, darker haired girl had her light blue guild mark on her collarbone, slightly hidden by her loose white button up shirt. The taller white haired boy (girl?) had his light gray one on his upper arm.

The boy tilted his head before he smirked. "I hear wolves," he drawled. The shorter girl blinked and smiled fondly at memories long past.

"Remember that time you choked a wolf twice your size with one hand Alice?" She asked softly. "The first time we met?" The taller girl barked a laugh.

Alice. Female name. He's a girl? Jax shook his head. But what a girl, so tall, with all that muscle. He shouldn't be one to judge, anyway.

"How many times are you going to make me remember?!" She grinned. "Anyway, come out, come out, li'l pup!"

Jax was confused. What were these mages doing in _his _forest? And were these really mages? The short one looked no older than him! He wasn't sure about the tall one, though. She looked older. By a lot.

Suddenly, the short one looked right at him, her eyes sparking with interest. She tugged on the taller girl's sleeve.

"Sara?" The other acknowledged. Sara didn't break eye contact with Jax, who suddenly had difficulty breathing.

"Alice, I found a person," she said softly with a smile. "I want them." Alice blinked.

"You… Want them?" She asked. Sara looked up at Alice expectantly.

"Yes. I want them in our guild," she said. Alice sighed.

"We can't have random people join our guild, Sara. We're a dark guild," Alice reminded. Sara rolled her eyes.

"So? They're unmarked," Sara said. "No guild visible. I want them." Jax fell to his knees. He had observed their reserve magic and found it difficult to breathe. Just who were these girls?

Alice sighed and approached Jax. She saw he was looking at her in fear and she smirked dangerously. "Are you sure I can't kill him instead? I'm in the mood for some bloody fun."

Sara pouted. "No, Alice. I want - it's a him?" She asked suddenly. Jax blinked. Alice and Sara looked confused at his gender.

"Not another transvestite," Alice pleaded. She was having bad memories. Sara grinned wide.

"Yes! Diversity! Our guild needs diversity! Join us!" Even her excitement was quiet. Jax felt he preferred the shorter girl. She was less likely to kill him, at least.

Stepping out of the bushes, he decided his best chance was just to confront this outright. "U-um," he said. Alice rolled her eyes and Sara watched him patiently. She tilted her head with a smile. Why was she smiling? "Why?" He finally asked quietly, his eyes finding the ground. Join them? Ha! It felt so ridiculous to Jax. These two incredibly powerful mages were inviting him to join their guild, for no reason whatsoever.

"Because I said so," Sara said, her face suddenly blank. "And if you don't, Alice will kill you. She wants to, can't you see she's anxious?" Jax let his eyes tear away from Sara's to see that Alice was smirking at him darkly. He swallowed nervously. "You either die, or join us."

"I don't like either," Jax said softly, before his wolf pack burst from the forest. Sara's eyes widened, and Alice's grin did the same before she whooped in excitement. Jax gasped as Alice simply punched the alpha in the jaw, sending him flying across the clearing, falling to the ground hard. His other wolves began cowering, slinking to their alpha which had yet to move. Defeated in one shot, and without any magic? Sara smiled at Alice and suddenly hugged her. Alice stiffened.

"Get off, shrimp," Alice demanded. Sara sniffed and her eyes were watery.

"I knew it! Meat-for-brains hates me!" She wailed. Jax blinked. These two were a walking comedy show. A very lame one.

"N-no, I-I don't - stop crying, S! I could never hate you!" Alice burst out. Sara grinned mischievously.

"Was that so hard?" She teased. Alice growled.

"You're horrible," Alice stuck her nose in the air and pried Sara off her. Sara giggled before meeting Jax's eyes again.

"Nice magic," she complimented. Jax blinked.

"Y-you realized?" He asked, impressed. Most people didn't notice the animals were under his control. Sara smiled mysteriously.

"I have to. Alice is an idiot, so I have to - ow!" Alice hit Sara over the head gently. Sara pouted.

"I'm not an idiot," she said, feeling a little done with Sara's antics for the moment. Sara smiled at her and grabbed Alice's hand. Alice blinked, weirded out by Sara acting so forward. Jax felt like an outsider while watching them. He was surprised Alice hadn't killed him yet. His eyes went to his alpha wolf. He hadn't moved yet.

"Excuse me," Jax finally interrupted. "I'll go with you." Sara cheered. Alice groaned.

"I don't get to kill you!" She complained. Jax blinked then shivered. Sara smiled reassuringly.

"She grows on you," she promised. Jax stared at her.

"I doubt that," he admitted. Alice winked at him. He froze for a moment before standing and dusting off his dress. Sara watched him a moment before frowning disapprovingly.

Jax's heart sank. He had a feeling the guild he was joining wouldn't accept his fashion choices, either. Sara finally snapped her fingers.

"I just realized what's wrong! I'll fix it, don't worry," she grinned. Jax looked at her blankly.

"The dress is staying," he said simply. Sara shrugged.

"That's not the problem, but don't worry about it," she trailed off. Alice looked at her weirdly before whispering in her ear. Sara froze and her face flushed. She pressed her fingers together nervously and laughed lightly.

Jax stared at them, his gold eyes boring into their friendly interaction. He looked down, suddenly embarrassed. His black hair hung in his face, the electric blue streaks shimmering in the afternoon sun. He was suddenly dragged to his feet by his ridiculously tall acquaintance. He squeaked and Alice outright laughed at him.

"Let's go, pipsqueak," she said casually, turning to leave. Sara seemed irritated at the comment, whilst Jax was just confused.

"Excuse me," he interrupted her dramatic exit. "Can I go get my things first?" Alice twitched.

"Sure," she whistled, pretending she didn't forget to ask if he needed any essentials.

"U-um, what's your name?" Sara asked, realizing she didn't know it. He looked at her timid face and relaxed. He could count on her to prevent his death, right?

"Jax, no last name," he said. Sara smiled at him.  
"Just like me. Sara, no last name," she said. Jax blinked. Few people didn't have last names. Either they really didn't have one, or they discarded it.

"Alice Nomex. I do have a last name. Ha," she said, bored. They began the walk to Jax's cabin, owner of it leading the way, after Alice had put him down, of course. Alice had her hands in her pockets, and she seemed completely relaxed - which she wasn't. Sara trusted Jax, but not entirely. She was also watching the forest for any danger.

"I'm not going to attack you," Jax said pointlessly. He rolled his eyes. "There'd be no point. I can tell both of you are too strong for me."

Sara's eyes sparkled and she tugged on Alice's sleeve. "Hear that? He called me strong, Alice!" She grinned. Alice snickered.

"Yeah, Sara's strong. Sure," she drawled. Sara pouted. Jax blinked.

"I just assumed because her reserve is kinda larger than yours," he simply amended. Alice's eyes snapped to Sara who merely smirked at her and waggled her eyebrows.

"My reserve is bigger than yours," she teased. Alice rolled her eyes.

"At least I can hit things. You run away and cry," she said. Sara pouted.

"Maybe," she said. She didn't continue.

Jax watched Sara carefully. Despite Alice's words, he didn't believe Sara was useless. Otherwise, Alice wouldn't have so much respect in her eyes for Sara. They eventually reached his decrepit living area and stared while he gathered his dresses, skirts, and lazy clothes. Sara began to frown again and Jax felt his dislike of her continuing to grow. Was she judging him? They always judged him!

They began their walk to the nearest train station. Alice cursed and Sara sighed when it was crawling with the Magic Council. He faintly remembered them mentioning that their guild was a dark one. He sighed when they came up with ridiculous disguises.

"That's not going to work," he said. He was ignored. Sara twirled her new mustache and adjusted her thick glasses. Alice adjusted her trench coat, and straightened her wig. Jax looked at them with disapproval.

He tsked before dragging them away. Their eyes widened at the sudden action before he brought out clothes from his bag.

"You wouldn't fool a blind man. Let me do this," he insisted. He also pulled out some natural dyes he had made. "These go in your hair. They'll wash right out, don't worry. Oh, and these clothes are more suitable. Big and bulky is suspicious. Confident, girly, and out there is not. What? Miss Sara, do you dislike revealing clothes? Take that cloak off, it's a huge target. Now, style your hair like so. Here, a mirror. Recognize yourselves?"

Sara and Alice stared at the mirror. He was really good at this. Alice looked at Sara and subtly nodded. They were definitely keeping Jax. They were getting pretty sick of walking to the next town station. 

**AN: Hey guys, this is the shortest chapter we've written so far. This is part one of three chapters in which we introduce our new characters. This will probably will be the shortest of the chapters, because Jax, as much as we love him, has the least complex back story, and the shortest time it took for recruitment, less dialogue, etc. We hope you like all of our new characters, as well as our old ones! And look out for more chapters with Rorian in them, because they are coming, and fast! Go Moonlight Insomniac!**

**~EoniaVermillion**

**Heyyy folks. I know we have ghost readers. Please review. Just. Press the review button. Leave a little note saying you enjoyed (or if you didn't). It's getting a little daunting because we have so much more to write and to receive no feedback is very dismaying. Pretty please?**

**~Arts**

**Review replies: Loki's Queen: There was a case of the semicolon not being used correctly? One of us must of missed it. Thanks. As for the influence of Sara? Well, both main characters are loosely based on us. Sara is based on Arts, except considerably more shy and braver in other instances. Alice is based on Eon, except more boyish and ridiculously strong. Thank you for both of your reviews. We really appreciate it. Heartsign.**


	6. Chapter 5

Veribex Hassim didn't know what to expect when he stowed away in the hold of the rickety old ship. Everything smelled of beer and rotten meat. At this point, he didn't know which he preferred. He didn't even know if the old ship would make it across the ocean, with the state it was in. But he had no other choice.

He had nothing left, except for that one clue. A small picture book that his late mother had given him, one that told him of a magical place, where wizards ran free, where mountains and green lush ruled the terrain instead of sand.

A place called Fiore.

And so he had set out on his journey. His family - and their fortune - was gone. He had nothing to lose now. No one would miss him if this little ship went down in the middle of the ocean.

He curled up and sighed. Only fourteen, and having to leave by himself. He had nothing to defend himself with; well, he had nothing to be taken besides the rags he wore. But he was determined. He would make it to this place his mother spoke of, and become one of the mighty wizards she spoke so much about, and then return to his country, and avenge his family.

The boat rocked sharply, and he turned about in his hiding place, his stomach lurching violently. He wondered if he would really make it to this place, if it was really the way the book said it was. He clutched the book to his chest, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

After a month and a half on the ship, Veribex was starting to get very sick. He had little food left, and had not had water for a day and a half. He would not survive much longer the way things stood.

He looked at the blank wooden wall he had seen so much of. He didn't think he would make it to Fiore.

"I'm sorry mother, I don't think I'll mak-"

He was jarred out of his thoughts by the boat suddenly hitting something. Something that felt a lot like land.

His suspicions were confirmed when the crew began to shout on deck, and many of the surrounding crates were moved. He quickly crawled inside an empty barrel to hide as the ship was unloaded. He was moved out of the ship, and onto what he thought was a wagon.

He spent the next few hours being shaken around, when the wagon finally came to a stop. He heard voices outside for a while, but they slowly subsided. After it had been silent for a while, he slowly raised the top from the barrel, and peeked out.

What he saw took his breath away. Mountains, tipped in white snow, under a great cover of stars. Lush greenery spread throughout, as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful. And cold.

He pulled his coat tighter around him and shivered. Surveying his surroundings, he realized he was at a camp, and the inhabitants were sleeping. He decided this was his best chance to escape without being caught.

Lifting himself out of the barrel, he quickly got down from the truck and began to make his way down the nearby path. It wasn't long before he came up on a small village.

Suddenly, the realization hit him. Now what?

He had made it to this strange land, in this strange place. But what now?

He had no money, no magic, no marketable skills. He didn't even know if they spoke the same language as he did. He had no where to go, not even a place to sleep. And it was oh, so very cold. He shivered, and looked around him for shelter.

Seeing a small barn, he decided the farmer wouldn't mind too much if he settled down in the hay for the night.

There was a small padlock on the doors, and he found a small rock, and broke it open. He pushed open one of the big double doors, and upon seeing that no one was inside, he slipped in and closed the door behind him.

Looking around, he saw a ladder that led up to a hay loft. He supposed that was as good a place as any to spend the night. He climbed up the ladder, and collapsed on the hay.

As he slowly drifted off to sleep, he contemplated his future. But as his eyes finally closed, he had only one thought.

_I made it mother. I made it to Fiore. _

Bright sunlight shone through the cracks in the old barn, waking Veribex from his slumber.

He had never known hay could be so comfortable, as he had slept like a baby. He sat up and stretched, and his stomach growled. Time to find something to eat, and hopefully, a form of employment that would give him a place to rest that he didn't need to break into.

Quietly slipping out of the barn, he strolled along the path he had been taking yesterday before someone yelled at him to stop. He froze. A woman with dark brown hair approached him with a scowl. She looked a few years older than him.

"That barn is under my protection. How'd you get in?" She asked, taking an offensive stance. Veribex blinked rapidly before putting his hands up.

"I- I'm sorry. I o-only s-spent the night," he stuttered, relieved they spoke the same language. "I'm from the other continent! My name is Veribex Hassim," he explained. The woman tilted her head and relaxed.

"You don't look like a mage," she observed. Veribex smiled, hopefully reassuringly.

"I hope to become one. It was my mother's wish for me to come to Fiore and become one," he said softly. He felt a pang of loneliness.

The woman blinked before putting a hand on her hip. That's when Veribex looked at her properly. She had long, dark brown hair. Her skin was pale, which was strange to Veribex. He wondered if he looked strange to her. She wore a bikini top and capris, leaving the tattoo on her stomach in full view.

"Well, I guess I'll help you learn," she smiled. "My name is Cana, and if you have the aptitude to learn magic, I'll teach you what I know."

Veribex smiled happily at her. "I would be very grateful," he bowed. She stared at him, not used to such manners. "If I may ask, what is that tattoo on your stomach? I do not recognize the symbol."

"It's my guild mark," she smiled, her fingers lightly touching the symbol. "It's not really a tattoo, but I guess it's kind of like one. It can be removed with magic. It symbolizes my family, my guild. Fairy Tail."

"A guild… Is it like a family?" Veribex asked. He wanted a guild now.

"Well, they're also places for mages to get jobs. You really don't know any of this, do you?" Cana asked. Veribex shook his head.

"I had no need to have this knowledge before. Now, it is imperative I learn all I can," he answered. Cana nodded slowly.

"So let's begin!"

The months he spent with Cana were informative, and he learned much about this "card magic." However, Cana soon had to return to her guild, and she left him alone to his magic.

He had found a job, however, while she was instructing him. He had taken a job helping out a baker and his wife with their shop.

Reasonably established, he worked hard, and made a life for himself in the small town.

Soon, he was very well established in his magic, and was officially the bakers apprentice.

The bakers wife had recently had a child, a beautiful baby boy that was set to take over the business. Life was good.

Until _they _came.

The boy in the dress, the girl with the cloak, and the worst of them all, the girl with white hair.

They came in the night, slaughtering the entire village, burning the houses. There was so much destruction, so much blood. He had tried to save them, he had used all his powers could handle.

But he couldn't do it.

He watched as the baker, his wife, and their child were slaughtered with an icy wave of the silver haired girl's hand.

His entire world came crashing down again in a matter of minutes. Again. But for some reason, they didn't kill him.

The one in the cloak leaned over him as he shivered on the ground. "Come with us." She ordered.

"W-Why?" He asked. He couldn't fathom why he was still alive. And why his village? Why no one else? Why him again? Why couldn't he just have happiness?

The white haired one laughed. "You have potential. Your magic is interesting. Don't you want to advance it, to see what you can do with it?" She asked, gesturing to the decimated town around them.

"This, this destruction isn't right! How can you do something like this, and for fun!"

The black haired boy snarled. "This isn't fun, this is work. Alice just happens to be sickeningly horrible at giving examples." The one in the cloak nodded in agreement.

The white haired girl chuckled, hitting the boy on the head.

"So basically, it's like this. You come join our guild, or I rip your testicles off, sautee them, and shove them down your throat, then use your gouged out intestines as a jump rope."

Veribex shivered at the image. He supposed he didn't have anywhere else to go.

And Cana had said a guild was like a family. He wasn't sure he really wanted such a dysfunctional family, but he supposed it couldn't hurt to try.

And he would be able to advance his magic.

So he stood up slowly.

Surrounded by the burning corpses of his village people, Veribex Hassim joined Moonlight Insomniacs.

**Author's Note:  
Arts: Well. That was shorter than we expected. But that was fun. Veribex, oh you sweet baby. You hate us soooo much. In other news, this story is also on wattpad under ArtsandHearts, so don't be like yo they're copy pasting.**

_Eon: Did you really do it under your name only why you I thought we were buddies. _

**Arts: Ah, well, about that. I didn't feel like making a new account for us, and that one didn't have anything on it anyway. I made sure to put in the proper Wattpad notes that you helped out (;**

_Eon: Ehhhhhhh, whatever. We are literally just stalling now so we can get to 2000 words._

_**Stalling Stalling Stalling Stalling**_

**Arts: Don't tell them that, it makes us seem like lazy assholes- oh. Well… We are. I mean, we update Sundays, but we write it on Saturday. Nice job, us.**

_Eon: We used to be so good about this. We had chapters weeks in advance. Now we just have our shorter than average chapters like, the day before. _

**Arts: Oh, woe is us. Also, this Wednesday, you'll be getting Chapter 5 and a half becauseeeeee the next chapter is actually written lol and it's also short sooo you're getting a treat~ Now, what could it be about I wonder? Rorian? Maybe an in-between chapter? A flashback? Or - a moment between two guild mates? Cana and Veribex? Oh god, the anticipation is killing you, isn't it? Mwahahhahhahahahah!**

_Eon: Ohhhhhhhh! Ohhhhhh, Pick me! I know! I know!_

**Arts: I know you know because we decided this together. Duh. But seriously, when are we going to re-introduce Rorian? Not even we know, audience. But soon. Yeah. Probably. Wink wink. Kidding. We know. Do we? I don't. Shut up, Eon.**

_Eon: We do knowwwww, we knowwww, it's in the plot! We have everything plotted out until like, the newest arc (For all you manga readers) #Notartscuzsheslame_

**Arts: Eon is like, oh you're in for shit. And I'm like, yo, anime is pretty good. I don't have time to read manga. I watch the anime. Becauuuuuuuuuse….. I browse tumblr while watching I'mreallysorrypleasedon'tshootme…**

_Eon: I never watch anime. I like reading. It's interactive. And you can spend alot of time staring at the same frame, i.e. gray in his sexy ass stolen hat after he beats the shit out of that dude during the games!_

**Arts: Well, because you read the manga, you didn't know until now that in the newest filler arc, Cancer makes Gray dance. And apparently you just told me that you already know that so fuck me sideways goddammit I thought I had that one. I never win!**

_Eon: I used to watch anime, I know. I just prefer manga, and there a choice few things i catch up on episode wise. Also, i believe that we have reached our word stalling goal. _

**Arts: P.s. if any of you like Naruto, we've started a Naruto fic that updates every Thursday oh shit we have so many deadlines Eon I can't *flops to ground***

_Eon: Noooooooo, Arts I cant live without you! *flops to ground with her*_


	7. Chapter 5 and a Half

Jax was beginning to hate Sara. Her occasional glances of disapproval were maddening, and he had only hated it more after a while. But he didn't care. He got to gaze at Veribex when he joined. Even though Veribex was a year older than him, Jax couldn't help but pine after him.

And then one day Jax finally noticed the bandages on Sara's hands. Whenever a guild mate asked about it, Sara would brush it off with a smile. Why was he the only one who was given disapproving looks? Because he wore dresses? She was no different than his parents!

Finally, Alice demanded to know why Sara was wearing bandaids. Sara tried to laugh it off, but Alice wouldn't accept that.

"Who the hell hurt you?!" She hissed. "I'm always with you! If I failed you, I need to know! I'll get stronger! I always promised to protect you, remember?!"

Sara sighed. "I- I've been…" She smiled awkwardly and whispered the end in Alice's ear. Alice looked dumbstruck.

"Literally? That's all? Man, you suck at that, you know? Why don't you just ask-" Sara interrupted her.

"No no no, I can't. I have to do this on my own, otherwise it won't have the right meaning," Sara grinned. Alice shook her head.

"You're really something else, you know that?" Sara winked. Veribex watched them with hooded eyes from his table. He had only joined a week ago, so it wasn't much of a surprise he glared at them from time to time. "So I'm guessing no quests for a little bit? You're almost done, right?"

Sara nodded. "I just need a few more days. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience." Alice shrugged.

"We're rich as it is, so don't worry about it," Alice ruffled Sara's hair. "Go on, work on it."

Two days later, Jax hadn't seen Sara. Alice was around the guild, doing paperwork on occasion. The guild master wanted to make Alice to take over in a few years, so he was having her get used to little things like paperwork. Alice could've sworn it was because master hated paperwork. Despite being a dark guild, they had to manage their papers.

The door suddenly burst open and Sara waltzed in. Her cheeks were red and she was sniffling. Was she sick? It was cold outside, being close to winter. Alice immediately saw her, but then saw the bag in her arms and didn't rush over. Sara's eyes found Jax and she stomped over.

Jax had felt too self-conscious the past two days, and wore baggy pants and a hoodie. So when Sara's eyes still had that disapproval in them, he realized it wasn't the dress after all. She thrust the bag at him. And stared at him.

"Open it," she ordered. Man, she was being pushy today. Jax reached into the bag and pulled out -

"A scarf?" He asked. It was pure white. White? Really? She should have realized by now that he liked black.

She smiled brightly at him. "It's some light in your darkness!" Jax scoffed and put the scarf back in the bag. Sara's smile dropped.

"You don't like it?" She asked quietly. Jax shook his head.

"I don't want it. Why'd you even bother? I'm sure it was cheap for you-" Jax stopped. Sara's eyes brimmed with tears and she was tracing the bandaids. He looked at the scarf again. That's… Hand knitted. Amateur work. Did she make this?

"H-hey-"

"What the fuck did you do to Sara you piece of shit?!" Alice yelled. Jax was jerked up by his hoodie as she lifted him up with a snarl. Her eyes were wild.

Jax rolled his eyes. "Why don't you go fuck her? I'm sure she won't mind. It's so obvious to everyone you're in a relationship. It'll cheer her up," he smirked. He closed his eyes, ready for Alice's punch that was sure to come. It didn't. He opened his eyes to see Sara tugging on Alice's sleeve. She smiled sadly.

"It was my bad, Alice," she reassured. Jax's eyes widened. How was this her fault? Was she stupid? "I was overstepping my boundaries."

"But-" Alice started and growled. "You worked so hard on it! You've been working on it ever since he joined! Your hands will have scars! And he has the fucking audacity to tell you-"

"Alice," Sara interrupted her, her voice strong. "It's okay."

Jax was dropped and Alice had sweeped Sara into a hug. Jax scurried away while his guild mates looked at him in anger. What the hell? He hadn't even done anything! What was so special about Sara, anyway? He noticed the fallen bag.

Sara was released by Alice, so she reached for the bag. She was surprised when Jax took the bag first. The other Insomniacs had returned to their previous actions, but Veribex still watched. Dark guilds were still so puzzling to him. This wasn't at all what Cana described, but he had learned Fairy Tail was a light guild.

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "I'll throw it out." Jax suddenly realized it. The reason Sara disapproved of him was really so simple?

"Did you look at me weirdly because I wore so much black?" He suddenly asked. Sara blinked.

"I - I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was looking at you strangely. It's just.. Too much black. I thought you needed some light," she smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Thanks," Jax said. Sara blinked as he pulled the scarf out and wrapped it around his neck. "It's pretty good, for amateur work."

Sara grinned. "Thanks," before she sneezed. Once. Twice. Three times. She blinked and sniffed. "I'm a little sick though, so I'm gonna go home," she excused herself. Jax grabbed her wrist, not wanting her to leave yet.

"U-um," he said. Sara tilted her head. Alice smirked. Jax had finally realized it: Sara's irresistible charm. "I wanna know more about you."

"Sure. Where should I start?" She asked, deciding to stay a bit longer. Alice left with her smirk, going back to her paperwork.

"How about with your family?" He asked. Sara's eyes grew dark.

"I'd rather not. Next," she replied. Jax blinked.

"Then, uh, how'd you meet Alice?" Sara giggled.

"Oh, that's funny. I had been travelling on my own for a year before I met Alice. This was back when I was a person who was afraid of her own shadow," Sara began. Jax stopped her.

"You used to be scared? But you're so brave now," he said. Sara propped her face up with her hand.

"Enough time with Alice will make one realize there's nothing to fear," she smiled. "I met Alice when I was going through a village, intending to restock. I hadn't counted on the villagers to be nasty to outsiders. Alice grabbed me and took me into the woods, where she practically made me piss myself. You think she's scary now? Back then, she was worse."

"Alice? Worse? Couldn't imagine it," Jax mused. He knew Sara and Alice got along, but this made him realize not everyone just clicks.

"I know. Sometimes I don't recognize the look in her eyes. She used to be so cold, so angry. Anyway, she was about to take me back to the village when a pack of wolves attacked," Sara paused and laughed. She called out, "Hey Alice, remember when you strangled a wolf twice your size with one hand?!" Alice's laughing could be heard.

"I remember! Remember when you didn't listen to the doctor and nearly destroyed your ability to move?!" Sara winced as Jax looked at her questioningly.

"That's… A different story. Well, during our wolf encounter, we discovered we both had magic. I invited her to join my journey, and she agreed when I had been joking. It was surprising to both of us when only one year later, we got along well. We used to hate each other so much."

Jax lightly touched the scarf around his neck. "I'm sorry for being rude to you," he said. Sara shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to it! I'm the little girl that follows Alice around. I've seen a lot of stuff," she reassured.

"I feel like I owe you. You and Alice saved me, even if I hadn't realized it then. I don't care if this is a dark guild. It's a big, dysfunctional family," he grinned. Sara smiled.

"I'm glad you finally realize it. This is my happy place," she admitted. She caught Alice's eye from across the room. Alice winked and Sara rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Jax said, his eyes on Sara. "I know what you mean."

After that, Jax lost interest in pining after Veribex. He'd found someone new to watch. He finally understood what made her special. He supposed he'd always needed some light in his darkness. His light - and everyone else's - was Sara.

He smiled to himself as they continued talking, swapping stories. Jax wondered if one day she'd tell him why her light disappeared when he mentioned her family. He wanted to protect her. Jax wanted to become stronger now. He understood Alice, in a way. Sara drew people to her naturally. It was impossible to hate her for long.

And for him, it was impossible to not fall in love with her.


	8. Chapter 6

**Warning: This chapter has mentions of rape. And violence.**

Liselle Douleur had had a rough life. And it wasn't done yet. First her father rapes her, then her mom abandons her, then she runs into a gang, they kidnap her, and now she's a prostitute. The world just hated her, didn't it. Liselle was trying so hard to be strong. Every time she was hired, she had to hide her shaking, her fear. But she couldn't do anything about it. It was all she had now. No one wanted her, and so she sold herself.

She had to hide how she saw her father every time a man got too close. She had to hide her sadness, her hatred for herself, for everyone. She had to pull through, be strong. She had no one now, only herself. Every time she had a client with green eyes, she remembered her father's own cold, sickening swamp green orbs.

The boss of the operation watched Liselle carefully over the year she had already spent there. With a slow grin blooming on his face, he had named her his spy, and taught her mind control magic. Liselle couldn't really care less. She had long since gotten used to detaching herself from her emotions. Her job didn't even bother her anymore. Nothing bothered her anymore. She was a shell. A shell that could control people like puppets with a wave of her hand.

It was a sunny day when Liselle snapped. No human could survive like that for long. One of her clients had a taste for roughing up his women before he had his way with them. Liselle tried to bear it (it was her job, after all), but eventually she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to. And what was stopping her. She had power, she knew that much. So why shouldn't she use it? Grinning, she froze him in place, a look of horror plastered to his face.

She giggled, an elated grin on her face. Keeping his body frozen, she released his conscience, so he could feel exactly what she was going to do to him. He had his fun, now it was her turn. Slowly, she picked up a screw driver from the floor of the dirty room, the same one he had used on her minutes before. She grinned wickedly, and began her revenge.

Four hours later, the screams Liselle had eventually allowed had subsided. She felt very satisfied with herself, but strangely very, empty. There was no hate, no fear, no sense of satisfaction like there was before. Just emptiness. She left the room, covered in blood. Her blonde hair was matted with bits of flesh. Perhaps she got too carried away, she thought to herself. There was a mirror in the hallway. Her blue eyes were cold, her lips tilted up in a smirk. She was the picture of insanity. But that wouldn't matter when they found the body. Weather she looked insane or not wouldn't matter to the courts, not that she would ever appear in one.

Her boss stomped in front of her and slapped her. She allowed him. She stumbled back a step, her cheek stinging. Liselle absentmindedly wondered what his name was. Everyone just called him boss.

Her lips curled up in a smirk before she laughed. When she turned to look at the boss, his face frozen in horror.

"I've created a monster," he whispered. Liselle didn't feel hurt. In fact, she felt comforted. She liked her new status. Monster? Gladly! She charged at him, and dug her nails into his neck. Her eyes were wide and she was laughing again.

People were screaming, begging for her to let him go, while the boss could only watched her with his fearful green eyes - oh, she hated that color, those eyes! - until his eyes rolled up in the back of his head. And Liselle Douleur wasn't satisfied. Still empty. She wanted fulfillment. She didn't know how to get it.

She turned around and ran. Ran out of the brothel, out of the town, out of anywhere anybody might be. Finally, she couldn't run anymore, and stopped at a small river. She dropped to the ground, huffing and puffing. Suddenly, she heard noise behind her. Whipping around, she threw a beam of psychic energy in the general direction of the noise, only to see it stopped by its collision with what appeared to be a playing card.

When she turned around, she faced four people. Liselle didn't know them. One looked slightly scared of her. Was that a boy in girl clothes? He was younger than her, she could tell, but the strange way he dyed blue into his jet black hair, and his cold golden eyes made him seem much older. Next to him was a taller girl, who she would have taken for a boy had it not been for her previous circumstances.

Liselle felt anger surge through her as she looked at the third one. Dark brown hair framed the girl's green eyes. Green! The same shade as the boss, as her father! Unacceptable! The girl tilted her head at Liselle's snarl. The last one stepped in front of the girl protectively as she glared at her. He was small, tan skin, auburn hair, and dark brown eyes mixed with a startling scarlet. Judging from the cards he still had in his hand, he was the one that stopped her attack.

Looking them over a second time, she noticed a guild mark on all of their bodies. A crescent moon with a spiderweb in it. They were all from a dark guild, and the infamous Moonlight Insomniacs.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She speaks, and oh god, it's been so long since she last spoke freely. "Mages, and from the notorious Insomniacs, no less." she said, stating her thoughts as she had longed to do for ages.

The boy in a dress was the one who spoke. "We're inviting you to our guild. We've seen your skills, and we're impressed."

"Jax, that's not a good idea anymore," the tall girl with white hair frowned. "She glared at Sara. Let's just kill her and be on our way. This was a waste of time."

Suddenly the little girl piped up from behind the foreigner. "I'm sure it's nothing! Everyone glares at me!" She smiled happily. "C'mon. What's your name?" She asked Liselle. "Mine's Sara, she's Alice, the boy with black hair is Jax, and this one is Veribex," she introduced them all in turn, pointing at them.

Liselle only watched the one introduced to her as Veribex. "Liselle Douleur," she answered. "I've no interest in joining you. After all, what's in it for me?" She crossed her arms.

It felt so good to say that. To have something done for her. To be selfish and bitchy.

Veribex was the one that stepped forward, approaching her. Liselle blinked and watched him as he did so. When he reached her, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You'll get out of here. You deserve better than this place. You deserve a safe place, with a family. That's what a guild is," he said. Liselle noted that his companions looked slightly shocked at his words.

"Why do you care?!" She snapped, pushing him away. "Why do any of you want me anyway?! I'm a killer! You just watched me kill someone! I'm covered in blood!" She laughed bitterly. "I'm a disgusting person."

Veribex shook his head. "No, you're beautiful," he said simply. He then smiled slightly. "You know who the Moonlight Insomniacs are. We welcome killers with open arms. You seem to have forgotten we're a dark guild."

Liselle froze. "I'm - what?" She couldn't speak. There was something blooming in her chest and - oh god, what was it? It wasn't lust, she knew lust. She was comfortable with lust. She had to get away from him, fast. What was this?!

"So, will you join us?" Sara asked again. Liselle looked at her, dumbstruck. Her eyes - they weren't a color she disliked anymore. They were bright, like green grass on a summer day. Liselle felt drawn to her.

So she nodded.

**AN: Oops. It's short. But we like it. So we're keeping it. Also the story is now M because of Liselle. Ps, Arts is sorry this is so late. We've had this done, it's just I forgot to upload it! I'm sorry!**


	9. Chapter 7

The Moonlight Court walked through the guild hall, lesser members making way for the five of them. They made their way to the center of the room, and stopped. Alice cleared her throat.

"Yo, midgets, guess what? You're actually going to be useful for once. We got a job that we need some people for," she began. The guild members looked around at each other nervously. She continued: "As you well know, we stand out a lot, and we need inside people for this job, since we only get paid if we cause as little destruction and commotion as possible.

So, some of you are going to have to come with us. If no one volunteers, I will pick the most shrimpy looking ones and drag you with us by force. Got it? Good," she said with a smirk.

"Two or three of you should do," Jax called out encouragingly, his fear of overstepping Alice significantly lessened over the two years they had been together.

"But make sure you're in good shape," Sara smiled softly. "I wouldn't want any of you getting hurt."

Tentatively, two young men stepped forward, trying not to meet the eyes of the mighty ice daemon.

"Lovely," Liselle purred.

"Be ready to go in front of the station tomorrow at seven sharp," Veribex instructed, his eyes sweeping over the tributes, judging their usefulness.

They nodded, and the rest of the guild looked at them in pity. The last time the Court needed help, the help didn't return.

The Court was made up of the five strongest in the guild: Alice the Snow Emperor, Sara the Priestess, Jax the Beast Master, Veribex the Sheik, and Liselle the Succubus. Frankly, only Alice embraced her title. She was a complete drama queen at heart. They were famous among the Magic Council, coming close to capture many times.

Sara broke off from the Court and smiled at the volunteers. As she began explaining the mission with a smile, the same thought came across the rest of the guild for the millionth time: she was out of place here.

If this guild was the moon, she was the sun. She brought illumination to the guild. If she left, it would collapse. She kept order among the guild, discouraging bullying and demanding synergy. There was talk she should be the next master, not her more violent counterpart, Alice.

Negotiations finished, The court left the guild hall, heading towards their private quarters. They had to go to bed early in order to be able to drag some of their more laconic teammates out of bed at such an early hour.

A solid night's sleep, eight cups of tea, screaming, and much mindless violence later, Veribex and Jax had managed to get the ladies up and running with only minor cuts and bruises, which was considered a success with the morning temperaments of all three of the girls. Even the docile Sara had left a nasty bite mark along Jax's arm from when he had attempted to draw her out from under the covers.

They made it to the station right on time, and seeing that the other guild members - Sara didn't know their names yet - boarded the train, hunkering down for a long ride.

Sara sat next to Alice of course, being in the middle with Jax on her other side.

Veribex stoically sat with the newcomers with Liselle on his lap, still half asleep.

The two newcomers looked at the two nervously, but wisely decided not to say anything.

Alice laughed. "Relax! We need you for this mission. Were not going to bite you! Unless you try to wake Sara up in the morning. Then she might bite you," she joked.

Sara frowned. "I didn't bite that hard! Just a little!"

"You drew blood!" Jax pouted, holding up his arm for show. Sara frowned.

"So that's why my mouth tastes like copper," she mused. "Though I must admit, you have better tasting blood than others."

Everyone looked at her in alarm, even Alice. "Do you drink blood, or something?!" Alice asked, curious.

Sara shrugged. "Well, it was a while ago, before we met. I had to survive, remember?" Alice watched Sara carefully. She never did learn how Sara survived. She had gotten the impression that she wasn't allowed to ask.

As the train chugged along, the conversation kept a steady flow.

The two underlings, Eadwig Rojo, a tall, broad man with a handle bar mustache, and Jannick Aterberry, a small wiry fellow who looked humorously like a rat. Alice hadn't expected them to be pretty, or look like decent members of society. They were a dark guild, after all. But she needed them to look like stereotypical outliers of society, so that they could at least function properly within an environment.

This new job was tough. An employer was paying them an abhorrent amount of money to not only take out a high profile target, but find out who he even was. That was where the newcomers came in. They would be working at a bar (Eadwig), the favorite hangout of his underlings, and a bank (Jannick), where the mysterious target conducted all of his business through correspondence.

These were the only two places that had any link to their target, a human traffic tycoon in the Fiore underground whose rivals wanted him dead. They were also to use as little violence as necessary, as the city was an important port, and they didn't want any magic council soldiers there stopping business.

That would be the hardest part. If it weren't for that, the Moonlight Court could have just killed the entire city, allowing time for their employers and their underlings to leave, and have been done with it. The tycoon lived in the city, so he would be among the dead. Problem solved. But this port was an important part of the trade network, and it would mean massive revenue loss to have it destroyed.

The Court dropped off their help at their respective jobs, then proceed to rent out a tavern. The pay for this job would be enough to cover it and then some. Sara and Alice had paid, considering they were already filthy rich. They just did work for fun now.

They were all lounging on random tables and chairs, the bartender nervously cleaning his glasses. They were all underage, so he wouldn't be serving them alcohol. They didn't mind, since Sara threatened to kill them if they drank. Alice already promised him death if he called the Council. Well, he was getting a lot of money from them.

"Hey, Sara," Jax suddenly said. Everyone was ignoring Liselle and Veribex's cuddling off to the side. "You, uh, wanna go for a walk, or something?" Alice looked up with a knowing smirk and Sara smiled brightly.

"Sure! Is it okay if I go, Alice?" Sara asked. Alice nodded, trying not to cackle madly.

"OTP," she whispered. Sara tilted her head in confusion before shrugging.

"Alright, let's go, Jax," she smiled. Jax nodded nervously, glancing back at Alice, who was giving him the 'if you do anything I don't like you'll die a slow painful death' look. They left the tavern, chatting quietly about work they had done together.

It was already dark out, so the streets were empty. This was the only time they could go on walks, because they were relatively infamous. Jax laughed at something Sara said, and his hand reflexively went to his white scarf. Sara smiled brightly at the action.

Sara stopped, tilting her head. Jax stopped as well, on guard. Since Sara knew next to none offensive magic, she had extensively studied sense and support magic. Sara always had to be on guard since she couldn't defend herself.

The wall next to them exploded, and Jax pulled Sara behind him. Her eyes were already calculating, ready for battle. They had wandered a good distance from the tavern, but Alice had heard the commotion with her oh so annoying 'Sara's in danger sense', so she would be there in about five minutes. If this was a threat, they'd have to hold out for that long.

A small boy dragging a stuffed bunny strolled out of the dust, a maniacal grin on his face. He had white hair, but the darkness prevented them from seeing much else. A small girl followed him with a scowl.

"Hinso, you didn't have to blow it up. The mission said stealth, not blowing shit up with your cupcake crap," the girl scolded. "Now the magic council will be all over this place, you little twerp!" Sara froze.

"Sorry, Sina," he giggled. "I just knew there was something cute over here!" Jax looked over the boy. He looked around fifteen, like they were, but he wore pink. Jax wrinkled his nose. He was ostentatiously pink.

The girl had long, dark brown hair. Her face seemed to be permanently set in a scowl. Jax stiffened. She looked a lot like Sara.

"Alright, where is it?" Sina asked. Hinso looked over to Jax and Sara. His eyes narrowed in agitation at Jax, but his face lit up when he saw Sara behind him.

"Her!" He pointed, giggling. "She's so cute! I want her!" Sina looked over, bored, and her eyes widened upon seeing Sara.

"Sara?" She asked, disbelieving. Sara pushed Jax aside and looked at Sina, face white with shock.

"Sina? Why are you here?" She was caught completely off guard. Jax didn't relax. Something about these two weren't right.

Sina suddenly laughed madly. "Oh, it's such a coincidence! Dear, dear, sister, who ran off with our family's treasure!" Jax whirled to look at Sara in surprise. Guilt was all over her face. "You were told to destroy it! But I can sense you still have it," Sina tilted her head.

"Oh, so can we keep her?" Hinso interrupted. He lifted his stuffed rabbit to his chest and hugged it tightly. "She would look nice in my dresses!"

"No," Sina said simply. "No, because she's going to die right here and now."

"Sina, please," Sara insisted. "Listen to me! I had to, I had no choice! This was how things ended up. We don't have to be enemies. We're all we have left!"

Jax pulled her back as she started to step forward. "Sara, I don't know what your past is with this girl, but she's serious about killing you. I don't want you to die, not to mention Alice would have my head. If you don't want to fight her, I get it. But don't go rushing in like that. It's unlike you."

Sara chuckled. "Jax, it's not unlike me at all. Sina, she's my sister. Older."

Sina tilted her head. "Are you two done? Because I'd like to hurry up and kill you now, Sara." Sara looked at her, tears threatening to fall. Jax glared at Sina. In all the time he's known Sara, she hadn't cried like this once. Sure, she tripped and cried, or she was worried for them when they took on a dangerous mission and her magic was almost not enough.

This was nothing like that.

Jax whistled, and a magic circle danced at his feet. Somewhere off in the distance, several howls resounded, approaching them. Sara sniffed, her eyes never leaving Sina.

"Sina," Hinso said seriously before his lips curled into another maniacal grin. "I don't want to kill her. She's soooo cute. Look at her tears. I thought she was cute before, but now," his grin darkened. "I wonder how she would look, tortured and begging for death? Don't kill her, no, I want to draw out her potential!"

Jax glared. He had no idea what these two were capable of, and he had to do this without Sara. He didn't want her to have to fight Sina, considering how upset she was.

"Cupcake!" Hinso suddenly shouted. It grew darker before Sara realized they were shadowed by something. Her eyes widened and she dragged Jax away. A giant cupcake shook the earth as it landed, crushing the wolves that weren't clever enough to move. Jax's eyes were wide. It was a literal cupcake, icing slightly disturbed from the fall. Sara sighed and she reached into her back pocket for her chalice. She spun it once before beginning her magic.

"Orange, strengthen them," she muttered. Jax sighed in relief that she was thinking properly again. His wolves dripped with the orange liquid, snarling and barking at Sina and Hinso. Sina looked amused while Hinso looked disgusted.

"Not cute… Not cute at all! How could you?!" He demanded to know from Jax. The black haired boy was caught off guard. "Your fashion sense is not bad, but your magic! So not cute!"

Sara was tense, ready to fight again, but she suddenly stopped and grinned. Her sister frowned. "What so funny!?" She snarled. The wall of the building next to them crumbled, and Alice stepped through the rubble dramatically.

'_There goes subtle on both ends,'_ Sara thought with a smile. '_What a drama queen.' _

"Yo, who the fuck is messing with my bae?!" She snarled. Sara laughed with relief and Jax relaxed, calling off his wolves.

"Indeed, who is making such a ruckus?" A boy's voice asked. Sara stiffened. She didn't even sense him until now, and his magic was insanely high! "Sina, Hinso, what are you doing messing with these kids?"

Hinso and Sina stiffened and turned to face him, bowing low. "We are deeply sorry for our actions, Master Ren," Sina spoke.

He waved his hand casually, leaning against the wall. "Yeah, sure. We'll talk about this later. I apologize for my underling's arrogance. I hope this will not damage our relations, Insomniacs," he grinned. Alice narrowed her eyes.

"Sure, Shadow Melody. Let's hope," she answered. Ren gestured for Sina and Hinso to follow and they left quickly, hoping not to anger Ren more. Sara fell to the ground on her knees, the tears coming back. Alice's eyes widened and she rushed forward, pulling Sara into her arms.

"S, what's wrong? Who am I killing?" She asked, trying to wipe the tears away. Sara laughed and sobbed at the same time.

"No, I don't want her to die," she whispered. "Sina, she's my sister. I just - I didn't think she'd want to kill me," she sobbed. "I didn't think - I didn't mean for her to-" she buried her face into Alice's shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay," Alice promised as Sara continued to sob. "I'm here, I won't ever leave you. I'll always be by your side."

When they returned to the tavern, Liselle and Veribex were up in their room. Over the years, Veribex had grown. He used to be small and cute, but now - in Alice's words - he was 'sexy' and 'tall as fuck.' Alice was not used to looking up at someone. It was humbling, to say the least. Well, until she decided she wanted to cut his legs off. Luckily for him, it hadn't happened yet.

The rest of the mission went uncharacteristically smoothly, until they were about to assassinate their target. Alice had hopped a wall into his estate, and came face to face with Ren.

She smiled darkly. "My, what a coincidence. Guarding someone?" She asked. Ren smiled in return. Behind him stood Hinso and Sina.

"No, killing," he answered.

"That makes this easier," Alice said as Sara tumbled over the wall. She would've fallen roughly had Alice not caught her. Jax and Veribex landed soon after on their feet, and Liselle was caught bridal style by Veribex. Their help was staying at the tavern as payment for a job well done.

Sina hissed when she saw Sara, who simply looked away. Her face was blank. She was done crying. Hinso giggled happily when he saw the girl. Two more people popped out from the bushes behind them. No one introduced them, and the Insomniacs didn't feel like asking.

"Well then, I suppose we'll work together, then," Alice smiled. "Or, we could do all the work for you and you can just be on your way. I prefer the latter."

Ren's fingers twitched. "No, I must say, I've been aching for a kill recently." Alice chuckled.

"Well, so have I," she replied.

"I have a suggestion!" Sara popped in brightly. "How about, whoever finds him first gets to kill him?" The members of Shadow Melody nodded, finding this a much more entertaining option. They all assumed they had different employers. For a man like this, a lot of people must want him dead.

The Shadow Melody members split off to search, while the Insomniacs turned to Sara. She merely giggled and pointed to an underground escape route from the house. Alice smirked as she opened it and they all popped in. Sara guided them through the twists and turns before pushing open a wall, which turned out to be a bookcase. A man sat up in bed, watching them with fear.

"Target confirmed!" Liselle grinned. "Now, who gets to kill?" They all shrugged. Jax didn't really have a taste for killing, and neither did Veribex. Sara couldn't kill, and Alice and Liselle loved to. So it was really between Alice and Liselle.

"You killed last time!" Alice pouted. Liselle shrugged. "And you took hours! We nearly got caught!"

"Yeah, well, I wanna kill more," Liselle grinned. "I have ideas for this one." The man was shivering, and Sara crinkled her nose when she realized he had pissed himself.

"I don't care who kills him, just do it quickly," she said seriously. "Shadow Melody is just down the hallway."

Alice walked forward, ice encasing her hand. She stopped at the foot of his bed and tilted her head. She reached out, as if to touch him, and he collapsed as she whispered: "Glacier Core." Blood leaked out of his mouth slowly.

Ren opened the door and pouted. "How did you get here so fast?!" Alice looked at him and smiled in return as she pointed at the secret passageway.

"Sometimes, it helps to look around the garden," she bragged. Sara tried not to roll her eyes. "Anyway, we shall take our leave now. Enjoy."

They decided not to waste time and head straight to the employer. As they discussed the payment with the employer, the Shadow Melody members walked in. The employer froze, beginning to sweat.

"Um, well, you see here-"

"You hired two guilds?" Sara asked, irritated. Now they had the payment to argue over!

"Well, it was a back up plan. Well, um, I know you are all very capable, but-"

"Shut the fuck up," Alice said darkly. "It doesn't matter. We killed him, we get the cash."

"Nope," Ren grinned. "I disagree. I get the cash."

"You didn't do shit!" Alice hissed. "Fuck off, the cash is ours!"

The employer watched the unfolding situation with fear. He shouldn't have hired two powerful dark guilds. He had done his research, so they had a treaty. They shouldn't attack each other here… Right?

"We actually bothered to do work, so it's ours," Sina piped up. "Oh, and, word of warning? Sara's a little traitor, so you might want to watch out for her," she grinned. Sara twitched.

"I betrayed no one," she said simply.

Sina's eyes narrowed. "You betrayed us with your inaction!"

The employer finally shouted, "Moonlight Insomniacs get the money!" He threw it at them and demanded they leave his house. They did, but they continued to glare at each other in the street.

"Hinso," Ren said simply. The white haired boy nodded with a smile as he walked off somewhere.

"Sara," Alice nodded to her. Sara sighed as she kept tabs on where Hinso was going. Her eyes widened as he reached the tavern their help was staying at. As the guilds argued, Sara tried to tell hers that something was wrong, but she was easily drowned out. Finally, Hinso returned with their help in his hands.

He was casually dragging them by their hair, a pout on his face. "They weren't cute at all," he said. He threw them towards the Insomniacs, and Veribex was the one to catch them. He glared at the rival guild. Eadwig and Jannick were dead.

Sara's lip quivered as she tried not to cry. They had become friends of hers, and their deaths weighed heavily on her. Alice glared darkly.

"Alice, not now," Sara said quickly. "Magic Council. Gotta go, now!"

"Alright, S," Alice reluctantly said. "This ain't over, fucktards. We're gonna string you up by your intestines, that's a fuckin' promise!"

They all fled from the scene, Hinso yelling to Sara that one day she'll try on his dresses. They left the corpses there, seeing as they couldn't carry them on a train. They gathered their stuff from the inn, and left a little extra for the owner to clean up the blood. Half an hour later, they were on their way.

When they returned to the guild without the help, Alice went straight for the guild master's office alone. The others decided to wait for her to come out.

"Master, Shadow Melody has completely trampled on our treaty. They killed two of our own!"

The master sighed. "I've already discussed this with their master." He smiled. "I'm selling the guild to them."

Alice's eye twitched. "So, the old geezer becomes fucking stupid!" She roared. "How could you do that?! How could you betray us like that!?"

The man stood up. "What would you do in my position? We're a dark guild, we can't do as we please."

Alice froze. "You _are_ fucking stupid. We're a dark guild _because_ we do whatever the fuck we want!"

The master shook his head. "It's not that simple." Alice laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, it is. From this moment on, Moonlight Insomniac is at war with Shadow Melody. Because I said so. And no, you don't have a say." The man went to protest before he literally froze. Alice flicked the statue and it shattered. "Bye bye, bitch. You sucked as a master, by the way."

**Arts: Oh shit.**

_Eon: Yeeeesssssshhhhhhhhh. In case you were wondering, cuz i dont think we really explained this, I'm Alice, and Arts is Sara. We both created OCs and made an awesome ass story around them. And more OCs. So im pretty happy right now. My Alice bay just became a guild master. swag._

**Arts: Get off my dick, Sina.**

_Eon: She likes your Dick_

**Arts: she is MY SISTER THIS ISNT OKAY WTF**


	10. Chapter 8

The guild bustled with fear and excitement. Two hours earlier, Alice Nomex of the Moonlight Court had slammed open the door to the master's office and stalked out covered in blood, declaring war on another dark guild. Then the entire Moonlight Court had disappeared into the office, and were still in there, talking softly about something - or in Alice's case, screaming less than usual.

After about three more hours, the door creaked open, and Liselle flounced out, dragging something large and bloody behind her, something that looked suspiciously like the old guild master. All activity in the guild stopped and watched the broken corpse drag across the floor, a sickening smile on Liselle's face as she advanced towards the door. The rest of the Moonlight Court followed her out, stopping in the middle of the room as she carried onwards, probably to dispose of the body.

Alice shifted on her feet, grinning wickedly.

"Well then, you've all seen it, we are currently without a guild master, and I believe as rules go, the one to defeat the guild master is the next one. And so, in this time of war, I declare myself master of Moonlight Insomniacs. Anyone with issues can take them up with me, _personally," _she purred, cracking her knuckles for dramatic effect.

The rest of the court rolled their eyes at their resident drama queen, but the intention was clear. Some guild members were terrified, slowly backing into the walls like cornered rats.

Veribex stepped forward.

"From now on, we are at war. However, to attack first is not the strategy we will win with. We are going to let them attack, and then observe just what we're up against, so that we may find the most efficient way to combat it. In short, we are now living in a powder keg. Be prepared."

He glanced around at the guild members. They were many, but they were a sorry lot. They couldn't keep up with a team of good magicians. Hopefully the Court could keep their best ones in action, that way they could pick off some of the smaller members. The odds weren't good, but Alice was never one to listen to odds. She would take on the entire dark guild herself if she had to, and be stubborn enough to win. Luckily, she had a guild to back her bull headed stupidity. Not that he would ever tell her that, though. He might end up dead if he did.

And he couldn't die. Not yet. Not now that he had her, as fragile and broken as she was, his Liselle. He needed her, and she needed him. And so he did everything he could to survive and follow her.

The front door slammed open, and Liselle walked back in, aware that Veribex was staring at her with those hauntingly dark eyes. She walked over to him and put her back to his chest, leaning back on his tall, broad figure. Looking at the terrified faces of the little guild scum, she deduced that they had already been given the war 'pep talk' that Alice had worked so hard on to make it as dramatic as possible. Giggling, she pushed off Veribex and followed Sara as she lead the other four daunting Court members out of the room to mercifully give the guild scum some time to adjust to the news.

Sara paused a moment and faced the guild a moment. Her eyes narrowed briefly before they went soft. She smiled and called out for their attention.

"I know not everyone likes Alice, but I do! I think she'll be a good master," she grinned. The guild halted their bustling. Liselle smirked. Jax snickered to himself. Veribex sighed. Alice lightly ruffled Sara's hair. There was the sun again, sticking everything back together.

"Hey, you might have a future in politics," Jax praised. Sara shrugged with an innocent look on her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jax," she said simply. Jax had worn a hoodie today. Sara tugged on it. "Gimme," she demanded. He sighed. Sara did that a lot. Steal Jax's hoodies, that was. She slipped it on and smiled. He looked away awkwardly.

"OTP," Alice murmured to herself.

However, at the same time, Shadow Melody was in a slightly different situation. Ren was agitated, pacing through the guild.

"Hinso, 'sup with Ren?" Someone asked. The white haired boy held his stuffed animal tighter.

"Oh, Drenedis. Well, on our last job with Sina, we ran into Moonlight Insomniac," he murmured. Sina scoffed.

"I don't get why he's so agitated. Just 'cause master said we couldn't go wipe them out now, doesn't mean we can't do it anyway," her fingers twitched. "I know there's at least one I want suffering," she grinned darkly.

"Ha, like your magic can kill," a beautiful girl interrupted. "Little mind tricks can't do shit, dear. I have no idea where your confidence comes from," she smirked. Sina's eye twitched.

"Crisna, don't be mean to Sina," Hinso pouted. Crisna sighed and ruffled his hair. He smiled brightly. "As always, you're so cute!" He cooed. Crisna rolled her eyes.

"I know, I'm irresistible," she winked.

All of a sudden, Ren stopped his pacing. The guild went silent, hoping not to anger him. Sina stood up and crossed her arms.

"Well, Ren?" She asked. He scowled and turned to her.

"Shut up, I just had a revelation. Your stupidity is chasing it away," he hissed. Sina grew quiet and sat down quickly. No one looked at Ren. He started chuckling.

"That Alice, I have a feeling we're quite similar," he smirked. "It would be great to meet again."

"Well, considering Moonlight Insomniacs have officially declared war on us, it won't be long," the shadowed figure of the master emerged from his office.

Ren smirked. "I thought their master was going to sell you his guild? Did he back out?"

The master shook his head. "No, not at all. He was quite intent on fleeing Fiore for a while now. This was his chance. Someone else took over as master. I'm sure we'll be finding out who very soon."

Ren chuckled. "I can't wait." Sina's eyes widened and she shook with excitement. Yes, she could finally kill Sara! That traitor, did she think that guild could protect her? She looked so happy with that black-haired boy. Her lips curled into a dark smile. Sina could finally get her revenge. And she knew just how to do it.

"Oi, Sina," Ren suddenly called. She froze and met his eyes. He had walked over to her and was watching her carefully. "You seem awfully excited about this. More than me," he mused. Sina didn't reply.

Ren scoffed and turned away. One of the guild members was unlucky enough to meet his gaze. Ren simply flicked him on the cheek as he walked by, but that clearly wasn't just a flick. The man collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain. No one said a word as the man slowly died.

"If Moonlight Insomniac wants a war," Ren said slowly, his eyes shadowed. "Then they've just signed their death certificate."

Alice sneezed. She lightly rubbed her nose sleepily. "Who the hell is talking about my guild at this hour?" Sara rolled over and murmured in her sleep. Alice rolled her eyes. "Geez, we're fifteen and she still is a sleep cuddler."

She sat up and looked at the clock by the side of the bed. Four in the morning. _Well, no use going back to bed now,_ she thought.

Sighing in comfort as her feet touched the cold floor, she got out of bed and made her way over to the dresser. The whole ice dragon slayer thing was really quite nice. After slipping on some clothes and a pair of sturdy boots, she proceeded to tie her hair up in a messy ponytail.

She then made her way down the hallway to the front door of the small compound the Moonlight Court called home, and stepped out into the cool autumn air. The sun had not yet come up, and the air was crisp and unforgiving to those not immune to the cold. She grinned.

Jumping high into the air, she landed on the roof of a nearby house. She only touched the tiles for a second before she was off again, spiraling over rooftops, flipping, spinning, covering huge distances in graceful leaps.

She loved times like this. When she could just be free, nothing holding her back, nowhere in particular she had to go, no one she had to see. Best of all, no one could see her.

She made it as far as she could before the sun started to rise, then she stopped, and looked back at the tiny city. It would probably take a while for their enemy to attack, as they probably had the same strategy as Moonlight Insomniac.

She needed a day off. Sort of a calm before the storm. She would only be gone for two days, max. No more.

Grinning, she looked around to see if there were any early morning laborers out. Spotting a newspaper boy scurrying from door to door, she jumped down and landed in front of him with a thud. The boy dropped his papers, and backed away in terror. The Moonlight Court was well known in their hometown.

"I-I don't have any money! I swear! Nothing of value!" He cowered.

Alice chuckled. "Relax kid, I'm not going to eat you. I want you to deliver a message for me. You know where my guild hall is?" The boy nodded quickly. Everyone did!

"I want you to tell Sara that I'm off on a pleasure run, and I'll be back in about two days." The boy nodded again. Alice smirked. "Good."

She tossed him a coin from her pouch, and once again took to the rooftops, making her way to the forest at the edge of town. Landing in a tree, she stopped for a second to contemplate her actions.

What could go wrong in two days that the Court couldn't fix without her? They were her personal team, chosen for a reason. They were capable.

Smiling genuinely - something she rarely did - she took off into the trees, contented to be surrounded only by the sounds of the forest.

Sara woke up with a throbbing headache. She tried to open her eyes, but it was pointless. There was something over her eyes. Blindfold?

She attempted to move her limbs, but it felt like they were strapped down with something. This something was oddly fuzzy and mildly disturbed Sara. Her heart started beating faster. Where was she?

"Hinso, did you really have to use those handcuffs?" A girl asked. From her voice, she seemed to be pouting.

"Of course! Cute things deserve more cute things! And fuzzy things are cute!" A high pitched yet definitively male voice resounded throughout the room. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it.

She racked her brain trying to think of the last time she had met a little boy. And then it hit her. She had tried her very best to erase the experience out of her mind because of her unfortunate family reunion.

But she remembered him, the weird boy who had called her cute. The other people called him Hinso. Yes, that was it! Hinso! She had a good idea of what was going on.

She had heard two voices, and if she remembered her sister, she never shut up. That meant that she wasn't here.

She cleared her throat loudly. "Shadow Melody. Where is my sister?" She spoke calmly and clearly, as if she was in control of the situation.

She had spent enough time with the world's biggest drama queen to know that if you acted like you had power, that you were in control of your situation, it made others think that too.

It made them nervous, on edge. And Sara needed every little detail in her favor right now.

"Been here the whole time, Sara," she heard Sina scoff. "You're acting so confident. I wonder where it comes from."

"Must be genetic," the other girl chuckled. "You do the same thing. Act confident, that is."

"Don't you dare say we're similar, Crisna. I'm nothing like her," Sina hissed. Sara tilted her head. So far, there was Hinso, Sina, and Crisna. She hadn't met Crisna before.

"True. After all, your sister is more of a Rosa Indica. You're… Huh, Solanum lycopersicum," she could hear Crisna smirk.

"Crisna," Hinso drawled. "That's a bit much!"

Sara was trying to figure out what those words meant. Was she obnoxiously using the scientific names for plants?

"You bitch!" Sina yelled. "Don't compare people to tomatoes!" Sara chuckled lightly.

"I'm sure you're as red as one right now, dear sister," Sara said. She was quickly slapped, but didn't make a sound.

"Don't talk to me," Sina hissed. Sara clenched her jaw. She wouldn't give Sina the satisfaction of crying out.

"Hey, Sina. Ren told us not to hit her," Hinso said quietly. "He said something about saving that for later."

Sina scoffed and seemingly stormed out of the room. Crisna chuckled. "As always, such a temper on that girl. That's why she'll never get a boyfriend!"

"Cris, you didn't have to be so mean," Hinso pouted. "Yeah, Sara is a rose, but I think she's more of a white rose. Sina would be a red one."

"No, that would imply Sara was innocent. If they're both Rosa indicus, Sara is red and Sina is black," Crisna answered.

"Aww, why do you think she's not innocent?" Hinso asked. Sara's lips twitched. She tried to look for her chalice before she realized she didn't have it. She was completely helpless.

"Remember when we found Sina? Sara likely also was travelling alone. There's no way a kid on the street could survive on the road without losing their innocence," Crisna said casually. Sara smirked.

"Depends on what you believe is innocence. If you know all about Sina, you should know that innocence was gone before we were even on the road," Sara interrupted. Crisna giggled and Hinso hummed.

"You're so fun! Unlike Sina, who just is angry all the time. I guess someone saved you from turning out like her," Crisna mused. Sara tilted her head. Saved…? Ah, Alice. It had to be Alice. Sara felt pain in her chest. Where was Alice? Why wasn't Alice saving her yet?

Someone entered the room. Sara carefully noted the sound of the footsteps. "Ah, she's awake," he purred. Sara bit her cheek.

"Yes, Ren," Hinso answered softly. Crisna made no noise. Were they afraid of him or something?

Ren continued to walk until he stopped in front of Sara. She continued breathing calmly. She felt fingers on her face and she resisted the urge to bite him.

"In this light," he began, tilting her face, "you are rather cute. I can see why Hinso wants to keep you," he chuckled. He suddenly froze. "Who hit her?" Sara tried not to smile as no one answered. She had an advantage over Sina now. The room seemed a lot colder than it was before. "Let me ask again, who hit our hostage?"

"I-it was S-Sina, sir," Crisna stuttered. Ren tutted.

"Should've known that girl would do something like this. Ah, now we can't claim she's unharmed. Well, that Alice girl would be infuriated if we said 'slightly harmed.' Perhaps this is better," Ren murmured.

"Alice is going to be infuriated that I'm not there in the first place. She already knows I'm gone. You're living in a powder keg," Sara smirked. Ren chuckled. He leaned his face closer to Sara so that she could feel his hot breath.

"Exactly what I wanted," he purred. "I heard they declared war on us. Their guild master is too much of a coward to do something like that, so he's dead. Who's the new master, Sara?"

Sara's fingers twitched. Another advantage. They didn't know the new master was Alice, who was stupid enough to charge in without a plan.

"I asked you a question, sweetie," Ren placed a hand on Sara's neck as a warning. Sara was struggling not to laugh. Like she was scared!

"Oh, so you did," Sara hummed. Ren tightened his fingers on her neck. This was a dangerous situation. "You really want to do this? Alice won't give a shit what the new master says. Neither will the entire guild. Let me tell you a little about our politics, Ren. If the master is king, then I'm the priest. I whisper the words of advice. If the master is king, I'm the shadow king. It was clever of you to take me, but at the same time dangerous. Like I said, powder keg."

"You? Shadow king?" Ren chuckled. His fingers loosened and Sara felt his palms slightly sweating.

"Queen if you prefer," she maintained her smirk. "In short, I'm the most important person in the guild. The sun to the moon."

Ren released her and stood up quickly. "Hinso, Crisna. Get Sina and Drenedis here. We have a war to discuss. Sara will help us."

"But, Ren," Crisna piped up. "Is it really a good idea to have the enemy listen in?"

"It's not like she's going back anytime soon," Ren said casually. "Besides, Sara is an item-holder mage. Sina has her magic item. We only have to keep her guild away from her."

"We will go get them, Ren," Hinso said quickly. They left the room. Ren stood still a moment, likely deep in thought. He turned on his heel and yanked the blindfold off of Sara's head. She squeaked, caught off guard. Sara blinked in the sudden light. She was face to face with Ren.

His ice-like eyes seemingly stared into her soul. She tilted her head slightly. Despite seeming so intimidating, he looked empty. The door clicked and her eyes flicked to it. The four entered the room. Sina immediately glared at Sara. Sara also recognized Hinso. There were two others. She assumed one was Crisna, and the other was the 'Drenedis' they mentioned.

She set her gaze to a cold, amused stare she had seen on Alice's face so many times. She vaguely wondered if this is what the other girl felt like through her infinitely amused dimenor. If it was, she felt pity for her friend.

Shaking herself back to the situation at hand, she noticed that they were all staring at her. Sara smiled at them, closing her eyes.

"No time to watch me. You've got a losing war to plan, Shadow Melody."

Ren scowled, then his face broke into a relaxed smile similar to Alice's. Which is to say, not relaxed at all, and rather terrifying. Sara giggled. He looked about as intimidating as a wet kitten.

All her time with Alice meant that Ren was an open book to her. He wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. Right now he was nervous. He felt that she wasn't scared enough.

And she wasn't. Alice was far more powerful than he was. The only time Alice used that smile was when she was hurt. She would never stoop so low as to be nervous over a battle.

These kids were amateurs, made confident by power they probably didn't know how to properly use. She giggled again.

Looking straight into Ren's eyes, she shot him an amused grin. "Nervous, are we?" Surprise and fear flickered in his eyes, but they quickly regained their previous cold look. He stalked over to a small table in the corner of the room, and the others followed.

"Think what you want," he grinned sickeningly, "by the time we're done with you and your guild, you will wish we had killed you with the rest of your little friends."

Sara sighed. So that was her sister's master plan. Oh, so scary. Emotional damage.

They would have to try harder than that to hurt her. A lot harder.

Besides, there was no way they could even touch the Moonlight Court. Alice would never let that happen.

If these kids tried to take on Moonlight Insomniacs, they had a world of pain coming. In the form of a stubborn and quite merciless ice dragon slayer.

_**AN: **_

_Eon: well_

**Arts: well.**


	11. Chapter 9

The more time that passed, the more unnerved the guild members felt. The brat Alice had hired did his job, but Sara had gone missing. The other members had observed that Sara was late, and Alice would have their heads if they didn't at least check on her, so they sent Jax to go pick her up. When he reached her apartment however, she was nowhere to be seen, and there was no evidence that anyone had entered or left the apartment since last night.

The remaining sane members of the Moonlight Court (just Jax really) spent the rest of the day mulling over their missing leadership. Alice had chosen the worst time for a 'pleasure run.'

Their leader was gone, and their second-in-command was missing.

But at least they only needed to worry about what to do once Alice got back, because there was no way they were going to live once she heard what happened.

Jax sat at a table anxiously biting his nails, and glaring at the lower guild members as they scurried around the guild was not had to figure out what to do on their own. It felt weird, making decisions for the guild. Alice and Sara had always done that.

At exactly 10:00 that night, Alice returned from her outing.

At exactly 10:10, the guildhall had three standing rooms left and 8 people were dead.

Alice was certain she knew what happened.

Shadow Melody had taken her.

But she had no bloody clue where Shadow Melody was.

They had the upper hand, at least until Alice knew where they were.

They may think they had all the cards in their hand, but if her dragon nose caught one whiff of those bastards' scent, not even all the tricks and leverage in the world could protect them from the angry dragon slayer.

Meanwhile, Sara was analyzing the Shadows' battle plan. It was stupid, to say the least. She knew her guild's strengths and weaknesses, and in terms of intelligence and pure strength, Moonlight Insomniacs had the upper hand. However, Alice might get reckless as these idiots had Sara. Well, maybe that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The only thing a reckless and angry Alice meant for her enemies was painful and destructive death. Sara was just worried that it might mean death for her friend as well. The small girl sighed and leaned back. They had untied her, after Sina's reassurance that Sara only knew how to use her chalice's magic and nothing more.

It was only partially true. Sara resisted the urge to reach for the items she had carefully hidden away. They hadn't taken her cloak, as they thought it was useless to take it from her. So what if it regenerated her magic? She had no magic to use. It wasn't a mistake on their part, not in the slightest. Their mistake was not searching her for other items. Sina assumed all Sara had was her chalice. Sara was just biding her time, waiting for the chance to have a clean and badass escape. Honestly, she was frightened without Alice. However, her plan should be flawless. Emphasis: should. She was unsure of Ren's magic, but aside from that, she had gathered bits and pieces on everyone else's.

Sina had illusion magic, Hinso had some strange magic that allowed him to summon things he deemed 'cute,' Drenedis had a type of body enhancement magic, and Crisna could summon plants. That's why Crisna sometimes referred to things in their scientific name. She was simply being annoying and obnoxious. As time wore on, she became more unsure of her plan. What if Ren could sense magic, or nullify it in some way?

Eventually, she resigned herself to just waiting until Alice came for her, and the day of the planned attack rolled around.

There had been no word of any activities from Moonlight Insomniac, and Sara was proud of them. They were laying low, planning carefully. Well, as careful as they could be without Sara to put a cap on all the crazy.

The first explosion rocked the stone room she was in, and the main members of Shadow Melody looked up in surprise.

Instead of waiting for Melody's attack, it appeared that the Insomniacs decided to take the initiative, though how they had found them was anyone's guess.

Sara couldn't bite back her grin; it certainly threw the enemy off their game. She could tell the people in the room with her were used to being on the offensive, and in control. Ren turned to her, eyes dangerous.

Suddenly her blood _burned._ She gasped, falling forward on her hands as her vision swirled without warning.

"You think this is _funny,_ Sara darling?" He asked her, voice sickeningly sweet. She saw fear in his eye's though, this attack was something he hadn't counted on. She choked, trying to say something, anything, in an attempt to defend herself, but she could barely stay conscious. Her fingers found the lacrima in her pocket, and she held it tightly between her fingers before smashing it on the stone floor.

Magic glowed, and ice sprung from the walls,disorienting everyone. Ren staggered back, and Sara was jolted to the ground by the impact. She staggered to her feet, knowing this was her only chance to escape. Between the mist and the mirages from all the ice, only Sina managed to catch the faltering silhouette of Sara escaping through the door.

Sara had hardly made it out of the guild hall when she finally collapsed. Her vision blurred in and out of focus. She had to stay awake, to find Alice before she did anything reckless. They had her chalice, but _where_? She had to go back and find it. However, when she tried stand up, her legs wouldn't obey. Her body locked up, the remnants of the pain Ren had caused her still attacking her every cell. She gritted her teeth as tears rolled down her cheeks. Why was she so _weak_? She needed Alice, needed the rest of the court. She couldn't do anything by herself.

Even upstairs, it had been Alice's ice magic in the lacrima that had saved her.

She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's me, Sara, it's Jax! Are you alright!?"

She felt strong arms wrap around her waist, was hoisted upwards and lay gently on Veribex's shoulder.

"Where is…."

"Our lovely ladies are currently spearheading a bloody and merciless assault on anything living within a mile radius." Veribex explained.

"I'll be joining them as soon as I get you back to safety, and Jax will assist as well as look for your chalice."

Sara noded slowly.

Another explosion rocked the building.

"Let's get out of here, so we can be back when the real fun starts." Jax suggested warily.

Veribex nodded, and they took off into the woods.

From his perch at the top of the guild hall, Ren glared at the battlefield.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

His spies had told him that they were waiting for him to attack first.

But then again, they had also told him that the Court deferred to Sara, and she had turned out to completely powerless.

When he was done crushing the Insomniacs, he would have to kill them. Painfully.

A streak of thunder lit the path as Veribex, Jax, and Sara made their way from the guild hall. They had made it almost a safe distance from the battle when Veribex stopped.

"What's wrong? We're almost there, we need to get Sara to safety," Jax said, looking around skeptically.

"I sense ominous and powerful magic this way. I don't like it, but we have to go back. We can leave Sara outside in the woods, behind some bushes or something. She'll be fine for a while."

"Alone? In the woods?" Sara spoke up quietly. "It's kind of dark out, and I'm an item-holder type. What if someone finds me?"

"Veribex is right. Sara is tiny enough that no one will find her, especially since it's dark out!" Jax agreed readily. Sara, defeated, allowed Veribex to carry her small limp body to the bushes. She was deposited there carefully before the two men ran off to join the battle. As soon as they left, Sara began cursing them and drawing her cloak closer to herself.

When she had her chalice she had a slight chance, but now she had one full ice lacrima and two empty ones left. She wished she had made Alice fill them all up. She'd feel more safe if she had. She went quiet when she heard footsteps in her vicinity. She tried not to move and control her breathing, but she couldn't help but scream as she saw a tall man in front of her. He squinted at her and she tried to crawl backwards, but got tangled in her cloak.

She recognized him, and she kept cursing that she and Alice were destined to run into Fairy Tail members. This time, it had to be Laxus, one of the most powerful members of Fairy Tail.

"Lovely, another refugee," he droned. He couldn't look any more bored, to be honest.

So he must be here for the battle then, Sara deduced. Maybe he could get her in, considering Veribex and Jax had essentially ditched her to literal wolves.

Putting on her best distraught face (not hard considering the circumstances) she began to snivel. "My - my sister, she's still in there! I need to find her, please, please, take me to her!"

Laxus's face contorted into a scowl. "Look kid, it's not my job to be social services and reunite families. Just stay out here until the battle's over and then look for your sister."

Well that didn't work.

Time for plan B.

Using her remaining strength, she lunged forward, grabbing onto his leg.

"Please please please please please take me with you!" She sobbed, clutching tight to his leg as he tried to shake her off. He looked like he would rip her face off.

"ALRIGHT I'LL TAKE YOU JUST GET THE HELL OFF ME, YOU DAMN BRAT!"

Plan B was a success.

Time to go find her chalice and her friends, and maybe kick some but along the way (though she doubted it).

She nearly threw up as Laxus yanked her to her feet and took off towards the guild hall.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea afterall.


End file.

Fairy Tail, Adventure, Friendship