Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ever since Tenrou it had been hard to deny that they had forged a connection. Evergreen wasn’t sure why she held herself back from it though.

Elfman was loud and boisterous and… manly. Far removed from the types of men she’d previously found herself fawning over. Refined gentlemen of wealth and status, prince charmings that would come to sweep her off her feet. Yet the man she found herself drawing closer too was anything but.

At least on the surface.

Elfman was hardly refined, he was clumsy and barely realised his own size and strength at times. Yet he was ever so gentle. She’d caught him feeding stray cats and cooing over tiny kittens several times before, not to mention his fondness for birds. Elfman had a surprisingly large collection of birdwatching books and would often point out and identify different birds that they spotted when out together.

Being a guild wizard also meant he hardly had any wealth or status, he would only ever attend a formal event if it was for a job. He owned a single formal suit that had been patched up and resized multiple times. It was dire, really. Not to mention his rigorous training regime always left him slightly unkempt and sweaty. He was definitely no prince charming.

Evergreen just had no idea what she saw in him and was terrified of other people seeing them together. She had a reputation, people saw her as a cultured and sophisticated woman. She couldn’t exactly be seen on the arm of a sweaty, clumsy, meathead.

She just knew it was wrong to treat him like that, a secret, but she just wasn’t ready to admit that their growing relationship was anything more than her gratitude for him saving her life on that island. Still, he was so accommodating to her, so patient with her. She knew she treated him terribly but he was still so understanding of it all.

That wasn’t the only thing weighing on her mind that day though.

“Hey… you okay? You seem distracted, there isn’t anyone coming, is there?” Elfman asked, drawing her from her mind as he quickly looked around.

Evergreen blinked up at him from where she lay sprawled across his lap. They’d found a secluded area in the forest near the guild, a place where they could enjoy their time together without any prying eyes. It was a fairly small clearing, there were trees for shade and a small lake that cooled the air on hot days

“I’m fine really, it’s nothing.” She answered, returning to watch the clouds drifting lazily overhead.

Elfman frowned at her response, “You sure? You just seem pretty distracted lately.”

Evergreen sat up slowly, brushing her hair back as she contemplated something for a moment. Elfman let her think, whatever it was that was sitting on her mind was clearly bothering her and he didn’t want to push her for an answer.

“It’s just…” She began before cutting herself off. She thought for a while longer, mulling over the best way to express her thoughts before she abruptly turned towards Elfman and asked. “What do you think about Aya?”

Elfman wasn’t sure what to say to that, he thought she was nice and he enjoyed her cooking, saying as much to Evergreen. It hadn’t been the first time she had asked that though, there had been odd comments here and there about the woman. Probing about other’s thoughts and opinions on her.

“I thought you liked her?” He added. “You spent that day with her and said she was nice.”

“I do like her!” She protested. “It’s just that I find it awfully convenient that she’s Natsu’s mother of all people, not to mention that apparently Natsu has this older brother that neither of them refuse to talk about… I just don’t fully buy her excuses that it’s too painful to talk about him, she talks about her husband happily enough.”

“Yeh well maybe it’s different if it’s her kid you know? I mean I couldn’t talk about Lisanna for over a year and she was my sister, so maybe it is pretty painful, she’s only been here a month.”

“That’s not what I meant… it’s just, she’s hiding something and she just seems so familiar like I’ve met her before which should be impossible but I just can’t shake it.” Evergreen complained as she ran a hand through her hair.

Elfman snorted at the display, before promptly digging his own grave. “I mean, sure she looks a little familiar but honestly you're starting to sound like Cana.”

Evergreen froze at his words and a moment later Elfman did too, sensing that he’d made a grave mistake. Slowly she turned to fully face him, a look of enraged incredulity across her face.

She then proceeded to berate him repeatedly for comparing her to a drunk like Cana, all the while Elfman desperately tried to backtrack stumbling over his words.

By the time the conflict had been settled Evergreen’s concerns had been pushed aside once more.

~*~

The guildhall was abuzz with activity. Unusually so and despite being more cordial with their fellow guildmates nowadays the Thunder Legion still enjoyed taking refuge on the first floor, away from the chaos happening below.

Evergreen had spotted the large crowd over by a far table as she entered. People were excitedly chattering away and laughing at something happening at the centre of the mob but she paid it no mind. Instead she quickly ascended the stairs to the next floor, finding the rest of her team already waiting for her arrival.

“What’s with the commotion?” She asked as she approached the other’s.

“Apparently Aya has discovered that she can show Reedus her memories, he’s been drawing them all morning.” Freed answered.

Evergreen nodded in understanding and was about to reply when the crowd below erupted into shouting and laughter. She leant over the railing to get a better view and saw Natsu practically pinned to the floor as he begged and pleaded his mother to stop with the pictures, much to the amusement of everyone around him.

In turn Aya mischievously smiled at her son and went back to watching Reedus paint.

“Man, I wish we could see those pictures from up here.” Bickslow complained as he too leant over the railing.

It was true though. With where the trio were standing they couldn’t see what Reedus was currently painting on the other side of the guildhall.

“Well, perhaps it wouldn’t do us any harm if we ventured down there ourselves, it’s always good to get stuck in after all.” Freed replied, earning a few nods of agreement from his teammates.

With the decision made the three mages made their way down to the ground floor and entered the throngs of guild wizards already gathered below.

It wasn’t particularly difficult to find their way to the front to get a better look at the painting Reedus was currently working on. As they got closer though they could hear Aya’s narration about the memory behind the picture.

“... the boys got so filthy that day.” She laughed. “It had rained the day before and I tried to keep them inside but their father let them out to play as I was cooking, oh I got so mad when I saw the state of them… I just couldn’t stay angry though when I saw how happy they were…” She continued, saying that the painting was after she’d tried scrubbing the two down.

It’s possible she would’ve continued had Cana not suddenly yelled.

“Holy shit! Is that your brother?!”

Interest in the picture suddenly surged as people clambered to get a good view.

Sure enough, appearing on the canvas with every brush stroke, were two smiling young boys. The picture was simple, the two standing with their arms wrapped around each other, both sporting bright smiles.

The shorter of the two was clearly Natsu with his wild pink hair. The taller one, on the other hand, was the spitting image of Aya with his raven hair and dark eyes. Both boys were speckled with mud and pieces of hay still.

“Oh look at the pair of you… Natsu, you and your brother got so messy that day.” Aya said as she looked over the painting. “Honestly, what was your father thinking? I at least made him do all the washing that week after that stunt…”

She continued to tell the crowd several more stories as the painting was finished, all the while Natsu moaned about his mother telling stories from his childhood as the wizards around him laughed at his expense.

“I have to admit,” Freed began as he appraised the painting, “if you were to see Natsu and his brother side by side I doubt they’d look related at all, clearly Natsu takes after his father.”

“Yeh, no shit… I wonder what his brother looks like now though, I doubt he’ll be a little kid anymore.” Replied Bickslow.

“No he wouldn’t be… what do you think Evergreen?” Freed asked as he turned to where his other teammate had been standing moments before only to see an empty space instead.

“Evergreen?”

~*~

When Evergreen hadn’t shown up again for the rest of the day the team had simply assumed she’d gotten bored and disappeared.

When she didn’t show up the next day, or the day after that, that was when they began to worry.

“What do you mean you haven’t seen her in three days?” Laxus demanded as he, Freed, and Bickslow made their way over to the girls' dorms.

Bickslow threw his arms out wide as he answered. “Well we looked in all the usual places, like the jewellery store…”

“That salon…” Freed added.

“That place she gets her nails done…”

“All the boutiques in Magnolia, why did there have to be so many of them?”

“I know right? They all sell the same crap anyway.”

“Okay enough!” Laxus yelled as he stopped in front of the door to Fairy Hills. “So you checked everywhere in Magnolia but where she lives?” He added, much quieter, as he turned to the other two.

There was a brief pause.

“Basically yeh.” Bickslow said as Freed also replied. “Essentially.”

Laxus sighed as he turned back to the door and knocked on it.

After a moment Levy opened the door. “Oh hey guys.” She said casually.

She had been about to ask them what they were doing at the dorms when Cana appeared behind her, slinging an arm over her shoulder, loudly proclaiming. “Hey! No boys allowed!”

Laxus rolled his eyes at her. “We’re looking for Evergreen, is she here?”

Cana briefly squinted at the trio before she lightened up, smiling widely. “Well why didn’t you say so, yeh she’s here.” She finally said, making no move to let the others enter.

“Caaaan we come in and find her?” Bickslow eventually asked.

Levy and Cana shared a look, the two seemingly having a silent conversation before they both sighed and stepped aside.

“Ordinarily the ‘no boys allowed’ rule is a bit of a hard boundary but we’ve not been able to get Evergreen to come out of her room and no one can get in… we’re starting to get a little worried actually.” Levy explained as she guided the rest of the Thunder Legion up to where Evergreen’s room was.

When the group finally came to stand in front of her door, Levy and Cana bid them farewell, wanting to give them all some privacy and wishing them luck in extracting their friend.

When the two women had finally disappeared, Freed carefully knocked on Evergreen’s door.

For a moment nothing happened.

Laxus then slammed a fist against the wood. “Evergreen, it's us, open up.”

Again nothing happened.

Just as they were about to call out again the door opened just a crack, making them pause.

Before they say or do anything the door flew open just long enough for Evergreen to quickly usher them in before slamming it closed behind them.

The state they found her room in was… surprising.

Ever was known for keeping her living spaces as immaculate as her appearance, yet its current state was anything but.

Clothes littered the ground and the furniture and it seemed like several boxes had been pulled out of the back of her wardrobe. The contents of said boxes had been strewn about in a similar manner.

“Jeez Ever, did you get robbed or something?” Bickslow said, his babies echoing the word ‘robbed’ behind him.

“No, I didn't get robbed.” She answered, her voice strained as she locked the door.

“Well it certainly looks like it.” Muttered Freed only for him to jump out of the way as Evergreen swiped at him.

“Aw man did you get dumped?” Bickslow asked, dodging out the way moments later as Evergreen took a swipe at him as well.

“Alright knock it off… Ever what the hell happened?” Laxus asked, putting himself between Evergreen and his other two teammates.

When the three finally got a good look at their friend she seemed to be in a similar state to her room. Her hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed the entire time she’d been stuck in her room and she was wearing a large, almost comically oversized t-shirt over a pair of sweatpants. It was… concerning.

She hesitated for a moment, eyes flicking to each of their faces before she sighed and said. “Aya can’t be trusted… there’s… there’s something she’s not telling us.”

Bickslow scoffed hearing that. “Is that it? Aya’s cool, she showed me a bunch of neat tricks with her soul magic, and my babies like her.” At the mention of them his babies all began voicing their own approval of the Dragneel matriarch.

“I gotta agree with Bickslow here Ever.” Laxus said when it appeared the fairy mage would argue back. “Gramps trusts her a lot, which is saying something since he doesn’t really trust any of the new members after what happened with that Mest guy on Tenrou.”

“Not to mention Lucy’s supposed ‘cousin’ that managed to fool everyone as well, I would’ve thought Master would’ve been especially careful around anyone claiming to be long lost family members… it seems Aya must’ve presented him with some particularly compelling evidence for him to believe her.” Freed added.

“Did she say something to you?” Laxus asked as Evergreen fidgeted on the spot.

“No.” She eventually admitted.

“She do anything?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Ever paused, wringing her hands before slowly turning to her bedside table. Her movements were hesitant, unsure, as she slowly picked up a small envelope that sat on the wooden surface.

Silently she walked back over to the group and held it out.

“It’s a memory capture, there are specialists you can go to to get them done… they make physical pictures out of your memories.” Evergreen quietly explained as Laxus took it from her.

“I’ve heard they’re quite expensive to do, likely why Aya employed Reedus to achieve a similar effect, why on earth do you have one though?” Freed asked her as he leant in to see for himself.

Evergreen watched as Laxus opened the envelope and removed the picture before she explained. “I got it done after Tenrou… I… I thought it would be important to remember what he looked like… I didn’t want to forget.”

The other three stared at the picture. More importantly, the person stood in the centre of it.

“Who’s this supposed to be?” Laxus asked, looking between Evergreen and the picture.

“Who does he look like?” She asked instead, turning her head away to avoid their gazes.

Freed looked the picture over for a moment until a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Actually…” He began carefully as he voiced his thoughts. “He looks like an older version of Natsu’s brother.”

“Holy shit yeh!” Bickslow exclaimed, agreeing with Freed.

Evergreen’s stomach dropped upon hearing that and she backed up until she could drop heavily onto her bed. She had hoped they’d say something else, that they wouldn’t even know who it was. What they’d said was the final damning piece of the puzzle that she been trying not to put together.

Someone was saying her name, trying to get her attention.

She was almost sure anyway, it was hard to make anything out over the sound of her blood rushing in her ears or the way she fought to keep her breathing steady.

“Evergreen!”

Her eyes snapped towards Laxus, who’d crouched down in front of her, his hands gently holding her wrists as his brows knit together. She felt tears spring from her eyes as reality crashed down onto her.

“Ever.” He said much more calmly. “Who is that in the picture?”

Evergreen opened and closed her mouth several times failing to string the necessary words together. For a moment all she could muster was the occasional whimper or sniffle until the words finally tumbled from her mouth.

“That’s the Black Wizard Zeref.”

Chapter Text

It had been a relatively normal morning for Aya. Her youngest and his friends had visited before leaving on a job to help patch up some of the holes in the floors and in turn she’d made sure they were well fed. Unfortunately Natsu was still something of a bottomless pit when it came to food.

She didn’t mind cooking for him, in fact she loved that he was always eager to eat anything she put in front of him. It made experimenting with recipes and cooking techniques all the more fun when there was someone willing to try what she’d made. It did however mean that she had to go shopping more often though.

Which was where she’d found herself that afternoon, perusing the various food stalls along Magnolia’s market street. Sure there were stores closer to the guild and her home where she could’ve gotten the things she needed. However walking around the markets just felt more familiar and comforting to her.

At least it would do if she didn’t have the constant feeling of being watched.

~*~

The Thunder Legion quickly ducked into a nearby alley just as Aya turned around once more, scanning her surroundings with vague suspicion. She clearly knew someone was following her but so far had made no move to confront them. It was entirely possible that she simply only had a feeling of being watched and just didn’t know that it was them specifically.

“I still don’t get why we’re skulking around like this, I am not dressed for this kind of sneaking around!” Evergreen whispered, complaining once more.

“Evergreen, we’ve done this hundreds of times before, we watch suspicious people to see if they do anything suspicious.” Laxus replied, turning away from watching Aya briefly to address his friend.

“Yeh man, you complain about this every time we do this.” Added Bickslow before he turned back to watching the street.

Freed turned back to the rest of his friends with a sigh. “As much as I don’t want to agree with Evergreen-”

“Hey!”

“-I don’t see why we don’t just go straight to the master with this information.”

“Uhhh guys?” Bickslow interjected, only to be completely ignored by Laxus who instead answered Freed.

“Gramps probably already knows, if it's even true, and if it isn’t and gramps doesn’t know then we would’ve put Aya in a real difficult position… we gotta go straight to her.”

“Hey guys.” Bickslow said, more insistent.

“I suppose that does make sense, there’s no reason currently for us to assume that Aya and… him are related even if they look remarkably alike.” Freed added continuing to talk over Bickslow.

“Look alike?! He looks just like the little kid Reedus was painting before, that’s enough proof for me.” Evergreen argued back, jabbing a finger in Freed’s direction.

“Guys!” Bickslow yelled.

“What?” The other three yelled, finally turning to Bickslow.

“Aya’s gone.” He simply said as his babies floated above his head repeating the word ‘gone’.

The rest of the team groaned in frustration and peaked out of the alley themselves to see that Aya had indeed vanished while they’d been arguing.

“Now what do we do?” Evergreen bemoaned as she threw her hands up in frustration.

~*~

In the end they decided to head back to the guildhall. Aya was bound to arrive there at some point to either help out at the bar or look through the archives. Sure enough, not ten minutes later, the woman in question waltzed into the guildhall pleasantly greeting everyone she wandered past as she made her way to the guild’s archives.

The Thunder Legion watched her go from their perch on the top floor.

“Do we just keep watching her orrrrr…” Bickslow asked as Aya once again disappeared from view only to reappear a moment later, arms laden with books.

“Unfortunately watching her seems to not be getting us anywhere, if we could only get her to spill something in casual conversation.” Freed muttered as he kept his eyes trained on the woman below.

When no response came from his friends standing behind him he chanced a glance to see them all staring at him.

“What?” He asked casually.

“Well you’re both kinda into books and stuff right?” Bickslow mentioned.

“You have an in with her since you’re down in the archives just as much as she is.” Evergreen added.

Just as Freed slowly came to the realisation of what the two were suggesting, and before he could protest, one of Laxus’ heavy hands came down to clap him on the back.

“Go get her tiger.” He said with a playful smile giving the rune mage a small shove in the direction of the stairs.

Freed grumbled the whole way down the stairs cursing out his friends in as many languages as he could until he was a few small steps from where Aya was sitting. He stopped for a moment, clearing his throat and straightening his clothes out.

He briefly cast a glance to where the rest of his team stood and could only roll his eyes as they all gave him an encouraging thumbs up.

He took a fortifying breath before making the final few steps towards where Aya was sitting.

“Are you reading anything interesting?” He asked as innocently as possible.

Aya turned to him with a smile. “Oh hello Freed, I’m just getting some research done, just when I think I’ve read enough books another always manages to catch my eye… I’ve really missed this.” She said, running a hand over the pages of the book in front of her.

“You’ve missed… reading?” Freed asked, slipping into the seat opposite her as she nodded in answer to his question.

“Oh you have no idea, we couldn’t exactly afford books, they were very expensive back then… the only textbooks I had were given to me by my father-in-law, and any others we managed to get were always gifts for my eldest.” She said with a fond smile.

Freed tried to suppress the grin that threatened to break out over his face when he realised that Aya had given him an in. “Your eldest?” He asked carefully. “Was he as studious as you are?”

“I like to think he was, he certainly enjoyed me talking endlessly about my own studies, practically taught himself to read with how often he had me read to him… I always told myself that I’d get back to properly studying magic when the boys were older though.” She answered turning back to the book she was looking at.

Freed tried to think of something else to say, anything to get Aya to keep talking about her son. She would spill something eventually, he just knew it. His thoughts stalled though when she pulled out a notebook and opened it.

“That looks like an Alymeriov Matrix.” He stated, looking over the diagrams and equations written out across the page.

Aya looked back up at him and smiled. “Hmm? Oh it is! I’m glad you noticed, we called it Castor’s Circle though when I was studying, it’s funny how names change over time when information is lost and rediscovered.”

“That’s fascinating! I’ve never seen it used in this way before, did you alter the fourth and fifth rings though? They look a little different than I remember.” He asked as he leant over to get a better view of the page.

Aya laughed and pushed the notebook towards him. “I did! The Castor’s Circle, or well the Alymeriov Matrix, can be used in some applications of soul magic so long as the fourth and fifth rings divert less power, they can damage the souls otherwise.”

“That’s remarkable, so what is it you’re working on then?”

~*~

The rest of the Thunder Legion had realised very quickly that waiting for Freed to get the information they wanted was going to take a while. Especially when he and Aya seemed to begin pulling out various books and comparing notes.

In the end Laxus pulled out his emergency deck of cards. He’d bought it on a whim during a particularly boring job where they’d been stuck watching a shipment of cargo overnight. Since then they’d taken to playing card games whenever they had to pass the time.

“I swear to god Bicks if another one of your fucking dolls tries looking at my cards again, I’ll crush it.” Laxus said, batting away one of the things as it tried to float behind him.

“Seriously what is taking Freed so long!” Evergreen complained as she looked over her cards. “Two queens.” She said placing two cards onto the pile in the middle of them.

“Nuh uh bullshit, I’m calling bullshit on that, there’s no way you can place down two queens when you got rid of three queens last turn.” Bickslow said in disbelief.

Evergreen could only smile impishly as she turned over the top two cards to reveal two queens. “Read’em and weep.” She said playfully as Bickslow cursed, scooping up the pile to add to his own hand.

Laxus was about to take his own turn when he heard the creaking of floorboards. Most people didn’t realise that the stairs creaked in places, but they did even if only the dragon slayers could hear it. He turned to see Freed making his way up the stairs, a beaming smile plastered on his face.

“What did you find out?” Laxus asked as the rune mage slipped into an empty chair within their circle.

“She’s absolutely fascinating!” Freed began. “She’s continuing her studies on souls and actually trying to better understand how they stay connected to our physical bodies, apparently it was something she was pursuing before but never got the chance to complete her studies in it, just think of all the progress she can make with the resources she has available to her now!” he exclaimed.

The other three stared at him until Evergreen frowned and spoke up.

“And what did you find out about her kid… you know, Natsu’s brother? The one who we think might be….” She said gesturing with her hands in the hopes of jogging his memory.

“Ah.” Freed sheepishly said as a light dusting of pink began to spread across his cheeks. “We didn’t exactly get to talk that much about him.” He added, averting his gaze from the rest of his team.

His statement was met with several groans as people threw their hands in the air or tossed their cards down onto the table.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bickslow muttered.

“What do we do now?!” Evergreen complained.

“This whole day has been a bust… we’re not getting anywhere by just dancing around and hoping she eventually gives something up.” Laxus said addressing the rest of the team.

“So what do you suggest instead then?” Evergreen fired back.

Laxus sighed as he gathered up the rest of the cards and put them away. “We’re gonna have to confront her directly.”

~*~

They waited till Aya had packed up and left. They didn’t exactly want to be discussing the topic in the guildhall after all.

After Aya had left for home they waited a little longer before following. They were surprised by what they eventually found.

They knew she was staying in a rundown apartment building, Laxus had heard from both Natsu and his gramps about it, but seeing it was an entirely different experience. It looked like a good push would send the whole thing crumbling to the ground at any moment.

He hesitated to knock on the front door, afraid that his fist would go through the partially rotted wood. He tried to do it gently but winced when the thing rattled on its hinges like it was trying to escape.

He heard Aya inside as she hurried over to the door and stepped back to let her open it.

“Oh hey… did I leave something at the guildhall?” She asked, confused as she looked between each member of the group.

Laxus didn’t answer straight away, instead turning to Evergreen who took out the envelope from within a pocket on her dress. It was silently handed over to Aya who took it skeptically.

It was hesitantly opened and everyone waited with bated breath as the picture was pulled out. The moment Aya saw it her eyes went wide, quickly stepping to the side and ushering everyone into her home.

They were all but pushed up the rickety stairs and into a derelict room on the first floor. The flooring looked newer, sturdier than the rest of the building and a mismatched settee and armchair took up the space in the centre of the room. Around the sparse furnishings were several boxes and crates that doubled as tables and more seating. Leaning up against one wall was a stack of paintings.

Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed all crammed themselves onto the settee while Laxus leant on a crate nearby. They watched nervously as Aya paced across the room in front of them, the picture still clutched tightly in her hand.

“Where did you get this?” She whispered as she finally stopped her pacing and looked at the four wizards in front of her.

There was a brief pause as all eyes turned to Evergreen. She sighed and straightened up, adjusting her hair.

“It’s called a memory capture, it’s a similar concept to what Reedus did for you with those paintings.” Evergreen explained as Aya nodded along in understanding.

“And… you know who this is?” Aya asked hesitantly, looking nervously between each member of the team in front of her.

“We know that the person in the picture is Zeref… the Black Wizard, we wanna know who he is to you.” Laxus said, expression hardening.

Aya let out a noise that was between a sigh and a groan as she dropped into the armchair. “Nobody else knows about this do they?” She asked, a hand coming up to massage her temples.

“No we haven’t told anyone else yet, we wanted to hear it from you first.” Freed answered.

“You still haven’t answered our question.” Bickslow added impatiently.

Aya leant forwards, resting her elbows on her knees as she perched on the edge of the chair. She took a moment to look over the picture.

“He looks so much like his uncle, my brother… he had his father’s boldness though, and his righteous fury, he was always getting into trouble for standing up for what he believed in.” Her voice was soft, fond even, as she ran a finger over the picture.

“So it’s true then…” Laxus began, cutting through her reverie. “The Black Wizard is your son.”

Aya sighed heavily as she steeled herself and finally lifted her gaze from the picture to lock onto the dragon slayer in front of her. “Yes, he is, he’s my son and Natsu’s older brother, if you have a problem with that then you can speak with your grandfather, Makarov already knows about this and… wait.” She stopped herself as she looked back at the picture, thoughts tumbling through her mind. “You said this was a memory picture… someone saw him?” She asked, desperation creeping into her voice.

“Saw him? He damn near killed me! It’s only because of Natsu pulling me out of the way that I survived at all.” Evergreen complained.

“What do you mean he nearly killed you? What happened?” Aya asked, eyes growing wide as her brow furrowed.

“He was being all creepy.” She began, only to get elbowed in the side by Freed. “What? He was!... anyway I guess he did try warning us to stay away from him, but he was being super weird about it, then all of a sudden it was like he completely lost control of his magic, like it just… exploded out of him and he couldn’t stop it… everything that magic touched it just…”

“Died?” Aya asked, her face paling when Evergreen nodded in agreement.

“That mean something to you then?” Bickslow asked when Aya made no move to explain further.

Aya thought for a moment, looking between each member of the Thunder Legion before she finally jumped to her feet, asking them to follow her.

She led them downstairs, and for a moment they thought she would lead them out of the house. That was until she instead lead them down the corridor next to the stairs and through the door at the end.

What lay beyond was another decrepit room, only the floors hadn’t yet been repaired as several parts appeared to have rotted away letting nature reclaim the space. Grass poked up between the boards and invasive creeping vines crawled across the floor and up the walls.

Curiously, as they looked closer, they could spot several dead patches. As if the plants had just suddenly withered away.

“Okay…” Aya began, her voice shaking slightly. “I need you all to stay by the door, I only want you to watch, I don’t want anyone getting close okay? The magic I’m about to show you is very dangerous and I need to concentrate.”

“Now she’s being creepy.” Evergreen muttered under her breath, only to be shushed by the rest of her team. Thankfully though, they all did as instructed, staying by the door and watching as Aya positioned herself as far away as she could.

She’d stood herself next to a particularly dense section of foliage. Taking several deep breaths, she extended a hand towards the vegetation, keeping her first two fingers extended while the other two and her thumb curled inwards.

For a moment nothing appeared to happen.

Until they suddenly felt it.

It started with a sense of unease, that grew into dread and horror. It made the hairs on the back of their neck stand on end and a cold sweat break out across their skin.

Then they saw it.

The spell gathered on her fingertips. A blackened wretched thing that seemed to consume the light around it. When the spell had grown enough Aya let it loose against the plantlife in front of her.

The effect was immediate. What once had been a lush, green vine, quickly browned and withered away until it all but crumbled to dust in front of them.

For a moment no one moved. They couldn’t even breath after what they’d just witnessed.

It was Aya who eventually broke the silence with a shaky breath that seemed to echo through the quiet.

“It’s called Ankhselam Black Magic… it kills everything it touches, that’s what you saw that day, isn’t it?” She finally said, voice unsteady as she turned to Evergreen.

The woman had plastered herself against her teammates, eyes wide and skin pale as she looked between Aya and the now dead plants. She could only let out a jittery nod in agreement.

“My family were followers of Ankhselam, we had many rituals and rites associated with the god… that magic… my father called it a gift, that if you could wield it then you were chosen by Ankhselam, there weren’t many in the family that could do so.” She explained, wrapping her arms around herself as she stared at the floor.

“So is yours just as uncontrollable as Zeref’s then? ‘cause that looked pretty controlled to me.” Bickslow eventually asked.

“That’s the thing, this magic isn’t uncontrollable, it takes a lot of effort to call upon it in the first place, it’s not something someone can just do on a whim.” Aya answered as she backed away from the dead plants but remained a distance away from the other wizards. “Whatever is going on with Zeref isn’t natural, combine it with his apparent immortality and it tells me that there’s something else going on here… thank you, for telling me this, it’s given me a lot to think about.”

“What makes you think we’re not going to just tell everyone?” Evergreen demanded, her hands on her hips.

“We’re not.”

The rest of the Thunder Legion suddenly looked to Laxus as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

“Gramps obviously trusts you and… I trust him... I nearly destroyed the guild once by not following his lead and thinking I knew better so if he thinks he can trust you then we will too, at least until you give us a reason not to.” The threat was clear but it did little to intimidate Aya who only gave a small smile and a nod in return.

The team left not long after that. They had their answer now, yet they questioned if they really wanted it after all. It seemed sometimes ignorance was in fact bliss.

As they left Aya went to hand the picture back but was told to keep it instead. They had no use for it now after all and if Aya had it then it would be one less thing to weigh them down. She’d been quick to tuck it into the inside of her waistcoat as she bid the four goodbye.

She had more answers about Zeref now, but it seemed her questions only doubled and there was only one person, one being, that could possibly shed any light on the problem.