Chapter 36 - Gigaman

Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul

A soft knock on the door roused Amber from her sleep. She'd moved from the couch to her bed at some point last night, at a time she didn't really want to think about. She'd changed into her pajamas, but that was all she could manage before dropping into her bed and drifting off.

Another knock came, and she slowly unburied herself from the blankets to answer. "Yeah?"

"Amber?" It was Zeke, hovering near the upper part of the door, judging from where his voice was coming from. "Axel and me are going to the guild hall. Want to come?"

A slight throbbing in her head began as Amber rolled over, pretty much answering for her."“No thanks..."

"Oh..." He sounded a little disappointed, but got over it pretty fast. "Ok, see you later."

A moment later she heard the front door open and close, and tried to get back to sleep almost immediately. She rolled over to find Armeria watching her from the windowsill over the bed, as well as a fresh ray of sunlight hitting her square in the eyes. "Why didn't you go with them?" Her familiar asked.

Amber rolled over again, slowly curling the blanket around her waist in the process. "Don't wanna..."

She lay still for another fifteen minutes, but the sunlight creeping across her bed made it harder to fall back asleep than she'd expected. Her growling stomach also became a pretty big distraction, and Amber eventually rolled out of bed in search of something to eat. With a bit of rummaging, she had fashioned herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and was just about to head back to bed when she heard a sudden ringing.

She glanced around the living room in confusion, then slowly began following the sound back to the kitchen. Tucked under one of the cabinets, almost out of sight, was a small lacrima-phone hanging on the wall.

It began it's fifth chime by the time Amber noticed it, and she glanced back at Armeria sitting on the couch. "What should I do?"

"Answer it." She said flatly.

Amber hesitated a moment. It was Axel's phone, so it felt kind of weird to answer without him here, but in all honestly she didn't think he’d mind. In the middle of the sixth ring, she finally picked it up. "H-hello?"

"Amber?" It was Shelly, which made Amber sigh in relief. "Did you want to come over?" She could hear a muffled barking in the background, followed by a soft voice that she couldn't make out. After making a quick shushing noise, Shelly continued. "Carra just got a new video game she wants to play."

"Uh..." Amber looked back at Armeria. She was kind of planning on lazing around in bed all day, hence why she opted to stay behind when Axel end Zeke left. But now that she was up, it felt like a waste to just do nothing. "Sure. I'll be right over."

"Ok, see you later." Shelly chirped before hanging up.

It was a good hour and a half walk to the Vamiro household. It wasn't that far distance wise, but a wrong turn that somehow lead to the port accounted for most of the time. Amber didn't have a house number, or even a street name, she was just going by what she thought looked familiar. Eventually though, she rounded the corner of a small apartment building and found Shelly's street. She stared up at the building as she passed, remembering Carra telling her that was where she lived.

A few blocks down, Amber was at her destination. She could tell because the hulking Guild Master Davin Vamiro was building something in the front yard. He was surrounded by parts, some made of wood, some of metal, but she really couldn't tell what it was suppose to be.

The massive man glanced up at her as she approached. "Ah, hello Amber. Did Shelly call you too?"

"Y-yes sir..." She stuttered. It still amazed her how big he was, but this was one of the only times he'd seen him standing up, and by god was he huge. It also suddenly donned on her that she'd overlooked some formalities. "I mean, yes master..." That didn't sound right either. "I mean, uhh..."

"It's alright, call me whatever you like. I must have around a dozen names by this point." He chuckled, trying to lower the tension. He dropped a part of whatever he was working on, and began counting off his fingers. "I've got sir, master Vamiro, boss, old man, dad..." He chuckled again at that last bit. "Jaina's called me moron a couple times too."

"Dad?" Shelly called from inside the house. "Dad, who are you-?" She appeared in the open doorway, and her eyes lit up instantly. "Oh, hi Amber!"

"I'll let you two have fun then." Davin waved, excusing himself back to whatever he was assembling.

"'Kay, thanks Dad." Shelly practically dragged Amber inside, saving her from another bout of Davin's rambling.

A wall of cool air hit Amber in the face as soon as she was inside, and she had just enough time to kick off her sandals before Shelly dragged her into her family room. Carra was waiting for them on one of the couches, with Chico laying at her feet. "Hi." She waved timidly.

Amber waved back, and Shelly gave a long sigh. "Thanks for coming..." She crossed her arms in annoyance. "Dads been cracking jokes all morning. Really bad ones."

Amber giggled, taking a look around. It'd been a few weeks since she'd been at Shelly's house, but it felt kind of comforting to be back. "So, what game is it?" She mumbled.

"Gigaman-3." Carra said proudly, holding out a disk case that had been resting on her lap. "It came out a day ago when you guys where away." There was a little twinkle in her eye; this had to be the most upbeat Amber could remember her being. "It's got a co-op feature to play with friends too."

"C'mon, I've got a game console in my room." Shelly beckoned for them to follow, then headed upstairs.

Carra and Chicko dashed up after her, as did Amber after one last look around. Despite sleeping there for a few days, this was actually the first time she'd seen Shelly’s room. A small bed stretched into the middle of the room, and a loaded book shelf occupied most of the outer wall to a window. On the other side sat a dresser and work table with a pile of sketchbooks on top. A small TV buzzed to life on the wall across from the foot of the bed, and Carra put a disk in a small box on the hardwood floor below.

The letters L, I, and T lit up the top of the box, giving Amber a somewhat unpleasant memory. "Hey... Is that from that LIT company?"

"Uh..." Shelly had just sat down in her desk chair, but apparently had the same thought as Amber. After everything that had happened on their last job, how could she? "Y-yeah."

"It's called the Lit-Station 2." Carra said with pride, laying on her stomach on Shelly's bed. "Kat's friend's company is making something called the Omni-Box, it's coming out next winter."

"I think I might like that one better..." Shelly giggled, nudging Amber in the side with her elbow.

"They all do the same thing." Carra shrugged. "Some just have a few exclusive games, that's all." The screen lit up again, displaying the words Gigaman 3 in bright flashy colors. Amber sat down at the foot of the bed as Carra flipped through the menus, while Chicko snuggled up next to her. "What level?"

"Umm..." Shelly did a quick scan of the stages. "Cyber Forest."

Carra made the selection, and another came up instantly. "What difficulty?"

Shelly shrugged, taking a pair of controllers and handing one to Amber. "Just normal."

The screen flashed white, and then a trio of robots appeared on a platform, one red, one blue, and one yellow. Trees appeared in the background, and the word BEGIN flashed up on screen. The red robot dashed off instantly, with the blue one trailing just behind it. It didn't take long for Amber to figure out she was the yellow player, but she still had no idea what she was doing. "So... What do I do?"

"Move left and right with the arrow buttons, and up is jump." Carra explained, never taking her eyes off the screen. "Push A to shoot, push B to punch... Hold either one down to charge up a special attack."

Carra carried on, but after playing with the buttons a little Amber had pretty much gotten the hang of it. The yellow robot followed after the others, who were in the midst of firing at a gun turret. "So what are we supposed to do?" Amber asked just as the turret disappeared.

"Every time you beat an enemy you get a pickup that gives you a new power." Shelly explained, her blue robot running up and punching another gun turret "You can only use one at a time though, so you have to be careful if you find one you like."

Coming up to another turret, Amber mashed the A button and destroyed it in an instant. When she ran passed the blue orb that came out to replace it, her robot gained a more heavily armored appearance and the pistol it had been shooting with was replaced by a large machine gun. "Ok, I think I get it." She mumbled, growing more confident. Amber drew up on a small group of grey robots, dispatching them within seconds thanks to her new machinegun. "Does it matter what one I use?"

"Not really." Shelly shrugged. "They're all different. But each one gives you a special attack too, and some can be used to get to new areas." Her robot ran up to a flower like robot with pedals spinning like a buzz saw. A few quick shots knocked it off balance, and a single punch knocked it out for good. Her robot then grew what looked like a flower on its head, and leafs grew from the wrists. "Like that one I just got; I can throw blade leafs instead of shooting, and I get a vine attack that we can climb on."

Amber glanced back at her character, just as the red robot zoomed past. It looked like a samurai now, dispatching one enemy after another with a long sword and deflecting any projectiles that came its way. "How do I use a special attack?"

"Push the C button." Carra said; again, never looking away from the screen.

Amber shrugged and tried it out, and her robot lobbed a tiny grenade into an approaching tank. The grenade flew right down the tank's cannon, blowing up almost instantly. "Wow, good one." Shelly said with a chuckle.

The girls played for around an hour. Trying combos, different power-ups, strategies. Amber and Shelly where pretty even in scores, but Carra had a definitive lead in every match. Stretching her arms above her head while they wanted for the selection screen to load, Carra rolled over and looked at Shelly. "Want to take a break?"

Placing the controller on her desk, Shelly sprung to her feet. "Yeah, let's get something to eat."

The girls all headed down stares, and Shelly began rummaging through the cupboards. Carra joined her at the fridge, with Chico jumping up and sniffing the first container he saw. Amber, meanwhile settled down in the home's family room, looking over some of the innumerable pictures hanging from the walls. Most where of Shelly and her brother, but she could pick out Davin standing in the background of a handful of them.

She followed the gallery until she stood in front of a mantle with a pair of short swords lay crossed on a stand. "Hey, who's are these?" Amber asked curiously.

"Hmm?" Shelly poked her head up over a cupboard door. "Oh, those where my moms."

"Really?" Amber took another look. The weapons where covered in dust, but other than that, looked pristine.

"Yep." Shelly nodded, sounding a little prideful. "Jaina says she could use Solid Script magic. But she couldn't use it with her bear hands like I can, so she used those sort of like wands to write her spells."

Carra joined Amber in the family room, looking the blades over herself. "Would that work?"

"I guess so." Shelly shrugged, pulling down a jar of peanut butter and a pack of crackers. "She was an S-Class mage, so I guess it was pretty effective."

"What're you guys doing?" Amber jumped in surprise and spun around, spying Leo watching them from the staircase. "Don't touch those." He said, jabbing a finger at them.

Shelly stuck her head around the corner, an annoyed look growing on her face. "Come-on Leo, they're just looking."

None the less, Amber and Carra both took a small step back, neither of them wanting to start a confrontation. Chico barked for Carra to pick him up, and when she did Leo said, "You know dad's allergic to dogs."

"He said it's fine." Shelly huffed, puffing her cheeks in annoyance. "Why can't you just be nice for once?"

Leo opened his mouth to argue, but Davin stepped in the moment he did. "Hey guys." He stopped dead, noticing the uneasy tension in the room. "Am... I interrupting something?"

"No." Both Shelly and Leo spoke in unison.

"I see..." It was clear Davin didn't believe them, but he didn't push the mater. Amber almost laughed; saying I see when they didn't believe someone seemed to be a trait of the Vamiro family. "Well, I'm done outside. What're you guys up to?"

"We're hungry." Shelly complained, shooting Leo one last glair.

A grin spread across Davin's face, and he looked at Carra and Amber. "Hello hungry, I'm dad." Shelly groaned and rolled her eyes as Davin began to chuckle. "Well, I can fire up the barbeque if you wanted."

"No thanks, I've got to work." Sliding his hands into his pockets, Leo stormed past his father and out the door.

They all watched him leave, and Davin sighed in disappointment. "Well, how about you three?" Amber and Carra nodded while Shelly gave no response, but Davin took it as a yes all around.

He strolled past them to the back door with a huge smile, stopping only a moment with a sniffle when he passed buy Carra and Chiko. Shelly watched him leave, but her agitated expression was replaced by a dull smile. "You see? He actually thinks he's funny."

"Bored..." Jaina mumbled, flipping through TV channels in her hut. She'd stocked up her medicine cabinet, tended to her garden, even cleaned the place up a bit over the past few days. What she was missing where customers, guild members or otherwise. It's not like she was wishing someone would get hurt or anything, but still. Something to distract her wouldn't be unwelcome at this point. "So bored..."

She was just about to take a sip of her third beer that day, when an abrupt knock came at the door. "It's open!" She yelled from the couch.

The door swung open and a nervous Axel stepped inside. "Umm...Hey."

"Hey sparky! What brings you up my way?" Jaina grinned, taking a long drink to finish her bottle. "You got an upset tummy?"

"No..." He already looked annoyed, but that was Jaina's plan. "I wanted to-."

"Where's Zeke?" She interrupted. Axel never came to her about being sick himself, and it wasn't likely this time would be any different, so Jaina had decided to have a little fun with him. "He's normally stuck to you like glue, ain't he?"

"He's helping dad with something." Axel growled, trying to keep himself from getting suckered into Jaina's taunting. "But I wanted to talk to you about Amber."

Sitting up straight, Jaina's immature tone vanished instantly. "Why?"

"Something she told me." He said quickly. "We where talking last night... And now I'm kind of worried about her."

"OK..." Jaina frowned. "So again; why?"

"We ended up talking about her dad." He shrugged, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "She said he's killed some people. And that she ran away from him because of it."

Jaina froze, maybe a little too much information all at once. Amber hadn't mentioned any of that stuff to her, but some pieces where still coming together. "I see." She smiled, and leaned back on her couch. "So?"

Axel did a double take. "What do you mean, so?"

"Well, come on. I've killed people too, Axel." She said, gripping at the shoulder of her missing arm. "I know you heard that story. It sure as hell didn't end with an arrest."

"You stopped a dark guild attacking the city. You where protecting people." He said it as a statement, but Axel didn't sound that convinced. At last, not anymore. "Weren't you?"

"That was the end result, yeah. But-." Jaina stopped mid thought. They where getting off track, this was about Amber. "Forget it. Did she say who? Or how many?"

Axel shrugged. "She didn't know."

"Hmm..." Jaina cupped her jaw, mulling over the information. "Ok, so why are you worried about her?"

Though he opened his mouth to respond, apparently Axel didn't have the words. He scratched the back of his head, which Jaina found suppressing because he seemed to be putting more thought into this than she'd figured he put into anything. "It was the way she said it." He began. "You know how she doesn't like talking about herself, right?"

"God, do I ever." Jaina chuckled.

She shuffled over and patted the cushion next to her, inviting Axel to sit down, but he just leaned back on a table behind him. "This was different. It's like she's wanted to tell someone for a while, but just never had the chance. She said she wasn't scared of him... But, I don't really believe her."

Jaina's thoughts snapped back to Amber's story about before she joined the guild. The group of mages she hung out with, and the scar on her shoulder. None of it clued in for her though, but there had to be a connection. With a deep breathe, Jaina pushed off her knee and stood up. "Well, don't worry about it. Amber's a big girl, she can take care of herself."

Axel grimaced. "But-."

"And even if she can't, she's got us to watch her back now. Right?" She nudged him with her elbow on the way past, heading into the back rooms. Axel nodded begrudgingly, still not convinced, but he knew when Jaina was trying to end a conversation. "Good boy." She scooped a raggedy book off of the table in her back room, and shoved it into Axel's chest. "On your way back, drop this off with Isa for me, alright?"

"Sure." He nodded, no doubt feeling a little annoyed.

"And Axel?" He stopped half way out the door, and Jaina grinned at him. "Keep up the good work."

He looked more confused now, but he nodded again and set out without complaint. Jaina dropped down on the couch again, thinking on everything she'd just heard. It wasn't quite the distraction she'd hoped for, but it was something at least. And it was good to hear Amber was getting along with everyone, even if the stories she had weren't all that pleasant.

Why she chose to tell Axel though was beyond her. The two of them didn't exactly have a best start, which admittedly she blamed herself for, and now they where freaking living together. She glanced up at the tv with that last thought, something else just now coming together in her mind. Something bad, really bad. "Holy shit..." She mumbled, glanced with her one wide eye at the door. "He freakin' likes her!"

Next Chapter – Hatchling