Chapter 53 - A Very Long Night

Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul

Once the prisoner riot had been quelled, which seemed to end the instant Oran landed on the ground, the head councilmen, Zephyr boarded the council's flagship and mobile command center, The Megalodon. Davin walked along after him, waiting to hear a summery of the nights events, with Jaina not far behind him. She wouldn't listen when he told her to stay put, and Isa begrudgingly volunteered to stay behind and look after the others.

Part way through their trek, a swarm of the rescued surrounded the three of them, thanking them for bringing down the dark guild. Zephyr calmly explained that they too had been held captives of Bloody Smile, and had been rescued when the Blazing Soul team brought the dark guild to it's knees. Jaina remained oddly silent throughout the explanation, pulling back whenever someone approached her. As councilmen parted the crowd, Davin looked back and through on why Jaina was so unusually quiet. Maybe bringing her to a meeting with the Magic Council was a bad idea. It also didn't help that many of the rescued seemed to be young women, an unsettling connotation that he knew Jaina had noticed as well.

Inside the ship, Zephyr led them to a large round room near the center of the vessel's upper deck, where the Council's two other chairmen where waiting for them. One stood almost fourteen feet tall, sporting a bald head with a thick beard and eyebrows. His thick arms hung almost to the ground around a large bellied profile. The other was an elderly woman, short grey hair, a pointed nose, wearing a long winter jacket and brown scarf. She glared at Jaina the moment she entered the room, but didn't say a word.

"Chairman Yog Longshaw, head of the rune knights." Zephyr gestured to the larger man, then to the woman. "And chairman Payla Morsetty, head of our investigative branch." Zephyr clasped his hands behind his back as the door swung shut behind them, and began making his way around a large magic display in the center of the room. "Though, I suppose introductions are unnecessary, given our history..."

Jaina placed her hand on her hip and whistled sarcastically. "Wow... The Council's three head chairman, all gathered in one place just to talk to us. How fucking special."

Davin gave an annoyed grunt. "Should I have made you stay behind?"

"Yes... Why did you come, Jaina?" Payla pushed off the wall and crossed her arms. "You couldn't be expected to fight in your condition, what with your injuries." A vain popped in Jaina's forehead, and the old woman tilted back her head and smiled. "Maybe Isa should have been the one to come along. She may not be a loyal dog, but was always the smarter of you two one."

A crackle of electricity buzzed along Jaina's single arm, and she took an aggressive step forward. "Say my sister's name again, bitch, and I'll turn you inside out before-!"

"If we could get things started!" Zephyr shouted in a commanding tone, bringing the argument to an instant end. "I'm sure you have a number of friends wanting to go home tonight. So, if you please." He narrowed his gaze, gesturing for them to sit down.

Davin pulled Jaina back by the shoulder, hoping to discourage her from lashing out again. "Alright, continue." He mumbled.

Nodding slightly, Zephyr began typing into a panel on the edge of the display, where a holographic three-dimensional map of the area around the prison hovered in the air. "Chairman Longshaw." He nodded to the larger man, now sitting on the floor and thoughtfully scratching his beard. "If you would."

The large man rolled up to his feet, taping a few buttons on the console. "Among the captured, including a number of petty thieves, thugs, and wanted criminals alike, where four individuals o' note." He flicked a switch on the display, and four portraits appeared in the air. "First off, two lower tear members: Hyde Mustang, and Jasper 'Iron Arm' Mannon. The enforcers o' the guild, if you will." A list of crimes appeared next to each portrait, extending far longer then the length of each picture. "And... The leadership of Bloody Smile: Django 'The Dark Dealer' Fulbore, and his brother, Oran 'Night beast' Fulbore. Whose crimes are..." He scanned down the display, eventually shaking his head. "Too numerous to list at the moment."

"Question..." Jaina raised her hand. "Do you think that maybe if you guys spent more time actually looking for these assholes instead of giving them all stupid nicknames, that none of us would be here right now?"

Davin gave a long sigh and cast her a disapproving glair, but it was Payla who spoke up first. "There is only so much we can do. If every criminal in the world was so brazen in their deeds, our job wouldn't be necessary, now would it?"

"Oh, necessary?" Jaina spat back. "You mean like how it was necessary to intimidate our new girl into thinking we where a bunch of freaks?" Payla shot her a stern glair, but Jaina didn't slow down one bit. "Thanks for that, you had Amber freaked right the hell out for almost a week, you wrinkly old bitc-."

"Jaina!" Davin shouted, standing up and pointing to the door. "Leave, now." She stopped her rant, looking almost stunned. "You're not helping here, so go wait with the others."

Jaina's mouth hung open a, her eye burning with anger. She looked as if she was about to go off on him too, but her shoulders dropped and suddenly it seemed like she didn't have the energy. "Whatever..."

"Yes..." Paly hummed, giving her a smug smile. "Run along to your sister now."

Jaina spun around, looking like she was about to begin ranting all over again, when Zephyr stood up abruptly. "Chairman Morsety, if you would be so kind as to exit as well."

She looked at him stunned. "I beg your pardon?"

"It will not require all three of us to explain the nights events to Master Vamiro, and I'm sure there are other operations that need attending too." His voice was calm, but his narrow eyes seemed to betray his irritation. "So, if you and Chairman Longshaw could give us the room..."

Payla stared at him in disbelief, but Yog scratched at his neck and obeyed without complaint. "Well, since ye' asked so nicely." He followed Jaina out, who glared back at Davin one last time before the door shut behind them. Payla eventually left with a huff well, thankfully leaving through a different door.

Zephyr sat down once they where alone, interlocking his fingers and resting his elbows on the table. "This is becoming a bad habit." He mumbled as Davin sat down as well. "This marks the third time your guild and the Council have crossed paths in the past month, Master Vamiro."

"We're good at what we do." Davin shrugged, looking a little puzzled. "Besides, you asked us to do this job. We sent the people we thought could get it done."

"Is that why your daughter is here as well?" Zephyr asked.

Twitching slightly, Davin sank back in his chair. He'd been regretting letting Shelly go with the others pretty much since the moment she left, and hearing Zephyr grill him about it didn't make him feel any better. "Shelly... Wanted to go. Her team was going, and she didn't want to be left behind."

"Children often want things they shouldn't have." Zephyr said quickly, beginning to shuffle through another magic display.

Given the circumstances, Davin felt like this was a conversation he should've had with his past self. Insisting that either Rift go alone, or nobody go at all. It was an internal tug of war that only made him feel worse the more he thought about it. Finally, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" He grumbled. "Other than my parenting choices?"

"Yes, there was." He said flatly. "Tell me, what do you know about your newest member, Amber Rymoon?"

A picture of Amber flashed up on the holographic display, looking like it had been taken in the medical tents while she'd been treated. Davin was confused, to say the least. "I-I... Don't really know much." He stuttered, narrowing his eyes at the old councilmen sitting across from him. "Why?"

"A passing curiosity." Zephyr mumbled, never breaking his gaze.

Sighing in disappointment, Davin crossed his arms and began to think. Zephyr didn't have passing curiosities, he was all serious all the time. None the less, judging by his answer he was obviously following a hunch. "She's sort of quiet." He began, hoping that Zephyr would share his intentions at some point. "Easy to make friends with, but always looks like she's got something on her mind. Avoids confrontation. Uses Familiar Spirit Magic, and Shelly tells me she's not that bad in a fight either." Davin began to chuckle at that last part, remembering how fondly Shelly had spoken of their new guild member after their first job together. "So why are you asking?"

Zephyr continued without offering an explanation. "Has she spoken to you of her time before joining Blazing Soul?"

"Uh... No." The councilmen's questions still didn't make sense, and Davin could tell that wasn't about to change anytime soon. "I mean, yes, she's talked to a few people. Jaina for certain. But it's not like we've been prying." Zephyr stayed quiet this time, but Davin couldn't even begin to guess what this was about. "What? You don't think she's dangerous, do you?"

"Her? No." Zephyr shook his head. "But the unknown is always dangerous, and there are a great many unknowns surrounding that girl."

"Well, I haven't asked, Zephyr." Davin shrugged, growing a little agitated that he was the only one answering questions. "If she doesn't want to tell me, I'm not going to pester her about it."

Zephyr seemed to mull on his thoughts for a moment, before sighing slightly and nodding his head. "Fine, fair enough." He rose to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back, strolling around the table while the magic display blinked off. "I apologize if it seems like I've been prying, Master Vamiro. But trouble seems to follow that girl like a shadow." Davin nodded begrudgingly and, sensing that nothing else would come of their talk, Zephyr asked. "Is there anything else?"

Just as he was about to shake his no, Davin stood up abruptly. Actually, yeah..." He glanced out the window as one of the Council's smaller airships passed by, and he took in a deep breath. "We could use a ride home..."

Since quelling the prisoner riot, Isa stood watch over the guild members, while waiting for confirmation that they could all go home. The chill of the cool night on her exposed arms did a pretty good job of keeping her awake, as she'd given Amber her hoody to wear, but it had to be well into the early morning by now, and her eyes where beginning to get heavy.

After giving everyone a full look-over, the members of Blazing Soul had once again been relocated to another tent. Leo hadn't left Shelly's side, but neither had the dark-haired boy who startled them all with his abrupt Take-Over transformation. It was the same for Jon, Zeke, and Axel, who all seemed to be hanging around Amber's stretcher. Geno was up as well, going against the advice of every doctor who walked past. Rift was the only one who stood apart, it looked like he really regretted not getting a shot off at Oran when he had the chance, and seemed to be waiting for another breakout attempt.

"Hey there." Isa jumped slightly, realizing she'd been nodding off, and turned to see Jaina had returned.

Smiling, Isa pushed off the wall she'd been leaning on and stepped out to meet her sister. "That was fast." No sooner had the words left her lips did she notice that Jaina had returned alone, and her expression turned into a frown. "What happened?"

"Davin kicked me out." She shrugged.

Isa scowled in disappointment. "You started a fight, didn't you?"

"I did not." Jaina shrugged again, brushing past her. "At worst, I fought back." Isa sighed in exasperation, rubbing her forehead in the palm of her hand, but Jaina ignored her and approached the others. "So, now that you're all up, how's everyone doing?"

"Everyone is present and accounted for." Jon announced, wiping a tear away from his eye. "Though... A little worse for wear."

"I want to go home now..." Zeke complained.

"Yeah, I bet." Jaina leaned on the shoulder of her missing arm against one of the tent poles, running her hand through her long, silver hair. "But... It ain't quite so simple as that. You're all going to have to stay over with somebody for a few nights, make sure nothing bad happens when you fall asleep." She glanced at Geno and placed her hand on her hip. "I'm looking at you, Mr. concussion."

Rift leaned in through the entrance, quickly taking stock of the situation. "So... What's the plan?"

As she turned to him, Isa saw a vein pop in Jaina's forehead, but thankfully she took a breath before saying anything. Apparently, Rift would have a lot to answer for when they got home. "The plan..." She began slowly. "Is you get to do all the damn paperwork." Rift gave her a thumbs-up, but ducked out when Jaina's hand tightened into a fist. "Shelly's going home with her family, surprise, surprise. Jon; sparky and the fur ball are your problem. And Geno's coming with me to the hospital."

"What do I do?" The youth stepped forward.

"You?" Jaina stuttered. "Do whatever the hell you want. I don't give a-."

"Jaina, be nice." Isa interrupted. "His name is Jak. Shelly tells me he was a real help to them tonight."

There was a slight pause, but Shelly shuffled forward on her stretcher to explain. "He protected Amber and me from one of those bandits. And then saved me when one of the Fulbore brothers came after me." Her eyes seemed to light up with admiration, while Leo seemed to be growing more irritated with each new detail. "Even right at the start, he helped us get out of our cells."

"Yeah." Jak nodded in agreement. "I lifted it."

"You lifted... A cell?" Said a skeptical Jaina. "How?"

Jak shrugged. "With my arms."

Isa, and many of the others, snickered. Jaina looked perplexed, and the vein Isa had seen pop on her forehead reappeared. She slowly reached out and gripped the boy's forehead, roughly shaking his hair. "Oh... You're adorable." Jak seemed accepting at first, but slowly his expression grew pained and he tried to push her hand away. It didn't help, but Jaina sighed after sharing a glance with Shelly. "Fine, whatever... I guess your coming too."

"What about her?" Rift said, poking his head around the tent corner and pointing at Amber. "If Axel ain't going to be at home, she's kind of screwed, ain't she?"

"She'll..." Jaina stopped abruptly, falling short on ideas. "Uh..."

"She can come with me." Isa stepped up, placing a gentle hand on Amber's back. "I've got a spare room, she can stay with me for a few days."

Jaina raised an eyebrow and looked at Amber. "That OK with you?"

"W-what?" Amber stuttered, obviously things where happening a little too quickly for her to follow in her sleep deprived state. "Y-yeah, I don't mind going with her." Isa felt her heart leap, and she tried her best not to smile. Knowing that Amber only ended up in this situation because they asked her to go, it only seemed fair that she help her get back on her feet. "Besides, I’m wearing her sweater..."

"So you are..." Jaina muttered. One glance between them told Isa that she and her sister felt the same way. "Alright, you'll go with Isa." She took a step back looking out at the full moon sitting high in the sky. Isa could tell she was lamenting, this night could've ended very differently for everyone, and not for the better. "This has been one hell of a long night..."

"And it's all over now." Davin ducked into the tent, patting Rift on the shoulder on the way by. "Just got finished talking to Zephyr. One of the airships is suppose to be heading back in a few minutes, and they've agreed to give us a ride back home."

"Really?" Zeke beamed. "You're awesome, Master!"

Elbowing him in the arm, Jaina asked. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"Well, you see..." Davin began, sounding like he was enjoying himself now. "It pays to be nice to people, Jaina. If you ask nicely, sometimes you get what you want." Jaina mumbled something about him being a smartass, but didn't say anything more.

"Um..." Came a small voice from the other end of the tent, where a council worker with long black hair and a sword at her hip approached them. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting..."

"Hanna?" Isa stood upright. It'd been a very long time since they'd seen each other, and there where a hundred things she wanted to ask, but nothing that seemed appropriate at the time. "What is it?"

Hanna smiled apologetically at her, looking like she felt the same way, but dug a hand into her pocket and produced a small, cracked Lacrima phone. "We found this while we where sweeping through the building." She turned to Shelly, who sat upright the instant she lay eyes on it. "I'm sorry, one of the dark mages must've broken it. And... I don't think it's fixable."

Shelly took the device and held it against her chest, glancing at her father through teary eyes. "Thanks..."

"It means a lot." Davin nodded, patting both Shelly and Leo on the shoulder. "I've got both my kids back, that's all I care about. I can replace a phone a dozen times over." Hanna nodded and stepped away, backing towards Isa. "Anyway, we've got a flight to catch." He said, trying to sound upbeat. "So, we best get moving."

"Oh god, now we're flying..." Axel mumbled. "I'm getting sick already..."

The doctors came to assist the injured onto the airship after a few minutes. Many of then claimed they where fine, but it only took one of Jaina's barks to get them to accept the help. The Remora, the name of the craft they where boarding, was set to retrieve more councilmen from the capital to assist in sweeping the area for more criminals, and on Zephyr's order they where to make a stopover in Merow City to drop them all off along the way.

It was a long flight back. The Remora wasn't a luxury craft, but the small hold they'd converted into a medical bay was comfortable enough. Many of them slept though the flight, except for Jaina that is, who paced back and forth across the deck incessantly. Isa did her best to stay awake as well, but caught herself nodding off on more than one occasion.

The sun was just beginning to rise when the airship arrived at Merow City's port. They disembarked quickly, not wanting to hold the airship up any more than the detour already had, and the all exchanged a quick goodbye.

Though Amber said that she could walk on her own, Isa still kept close and insisted on carrying her bag for her. What she thought was a limp at first ended up being Amber falling asleep on her feet. The poor girl must've been exhausted, and the last thing she needed was a head injury from collapsing in the street. Amber only had her slippers as footwear as well, as she'd apparently lost her sandals at some point during their kidnapping.

Luckily, it wasn't that long of a walk. Soon Isa unlocked the door to a white, two-story house and led Amber inside. They headed straight for her living room, where she sat Amber down on her couch while she prepared the spare bed.

She stopped at the door and huffed, realizing she'd gone without tidying up for a little too long. "Sorry, it'll just be a sec!" She called down the stares. Despite the grave nature of the visit, Isa was ecstatic to have a guest.

The first thing to go where a few old boxes of books she'd accumulated over the years, followed by a large globe that sat on the night table, the idea being that Amber would need somewhere to put her glasses for the night. She ran to a side closet to grab her a few spare pillows, wondering how Amber was going to get comfortable laying down with injury's over most of her body.

In the midst of her work, Isa's stomach growled, bringing another concern to her mind. "Hey, did you want something to eat, Amber? You're not thirsty either, are you?" She waited a moment, but there was no answer. Thinking she hadn't heard her, Isa headed back downstairs with a blanket still tucked under her arm. "Amber, are you-?"

"Shh." A monotone voice hushed her, and Isa jumped in surprise when she saw a tiny, black and white imp with big bright eyes and a helmet made of stone sitting on the back of her couch. "She's sleeping."

The surprise subsided, and Isa noticed Amber curled up in a ball on the couch, exactly where she'd left her. No pillows, no covers, she'd just rolled over and fell asleep. "Oh..." Isa muttered. It wasn't what she'd intended, but she wasn't about to wake her up just to move her upstairs. "You must be her familiar... Armeria, right?"

The imp nodded her head slightly. "Yes."

Isa smiled, slowly approaching the two of them and drew the blanket she was holding over Amber's shoulders. The last thing she wanted was for her to get sick. "I guess she's pretty warn out, huh?"

"It's been a long night." Armeria mumbled. "Don't worry, Amber's a survivor."

Something about the way she said that put Isa off. She couldn't figure out why, but was too tired to put any real thought behind it. "So..." She mumbled, shaking the fealing away. "You're not hungry either, are you?"

"I don't eat." She said flatly. "Or drink, or sleep." Isa nodded slightly. She didn't really know what sort of response to expect, but the one she got still caught her off guard. "Besides, I watch over Amber. I keep her safe while she's asleep."

"Well, she's safe here." Isa huffed, wondering if Armeria didn't trust her. The familiar didn't respond, but Isa didn't dwell on her thoughts for too long. "She’s happy here, right?" She asked suddenly, deciding to forgo any attempts at small talk. "Jaina said she's had a pretty rough time before joining the guild."

Armeria stared, seemingly studying her face for a hint as to her intentions. After a moment, when she glanced back at Amber, she shook her head. "I... Don't think she'd want me to tell you about that."

Isa sighed, but kept smiling. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. "I see."

"But, she likes it here." Armeria added, sliding down from the top of the couch to sit next to Amber's head. "I think this could be a good home for her." Isa's heart fluttered. After the night's events, getting beat up on every job she'd ever taken, and admittedly having a bit of a rough start from the moment she bore the Blazing Soul guild crest, she wouldn't blame her for wanting to run for the hills. Knowing that Amber thought of this place as a home, especially after what happened to her tonight, was exactly what Isa wanted to hear.

Next Chapter – An Odd Request