An Awkward Mission

Aura could barely breathe, all of her air was gone as Erza, her mother, stared at her from in front of the bar. She was trying to process what had just happened but she was having a hard time doing so. *She really wants me to go on a mission with her? Just the two of us? Could this be about last night?* Aura knew that Erza had watched her & Wendy the previous night. It was obvious that Aura had used one of Natsu's Dragon Force techniques then, but just how much Erza knew about the situation remained a mystery. It had to be obvious at this point that Erza knew Natsu was Aura's father, but did she know her own connection to the time lost wizard?

"Aura?" Wendy called her name concerned, snapping her out of her trance. Aura looked down at the young girl whose face was wrought with worry even if it wasn't immediately obvious. Aura managed to give Wendy a weak smile as she placed her hand on her head.

"Don't worry I know." She said trying to convince herself more than Wendy.

"So do you want to accompany me Aura?" Erza asked, even though it seemed more like a command than a question.

Aura offered a fake smiled and answered as confident as she could, "Yeah, I'll tag along."

"Good." Erza replied smiling back, "We'll be leaving in 4 hours. I'll meet you at the train station, don't be late."

"Y-yes ma'am." Aura replied a bit intimidated, her face turning red as Erza walked past her and out of the guild hall.

As soon as the door shut behind Erza, Aura felt her legs give out as she fell to the floor. Wendy rushed to her side. "Are you alright?"

Aura smiled, "Yeah I'm fine." She gingerly stood up, "I'm still a bit shaken up though." She walked to the bar and sat on a stool as Mirajane brought her a glass of water. She grabbed the cold glass and drank down the refreshing liquid. She set the glass down and wiped the rouge drops falling from her mouth.

"Thanks Mira."

"You're welcome. Are you going to be ok on this mission?" The barmaid asked concerned. "Erza might already know."

Aura looked down sullenly at the bar top as she took another sip of water. "I know, I tried to keep it a secret but I should have known that mom would have found out eventually. Too bad it was because I made a stupid mistake."

"What do you think she's going to say if she finds out you're her daughter?" Wendy asked

"I honestly don't know. Growing up I was always closer to my dad than my mom. I knew she loved me, but she intimidated me so we never really talked much when I got older. She died before we had a chance to get closer." She then put her head down depressed as she began to reminisce.

Things turned silent in the empty guild hall as Mira, Wendy, Carla, & Happy looked empathically at Aura. Wendy looked at Carla for some advice, but all the white cat did was push Wendy towards Aura. Wendy's eyes widened with surprise as she looked back at Carla, she didn't know what to do. Carla simply pointed at Aura and sipped on her cup of tea.

Wendy twiddled her thumbs nervous as Aura slowly looked down at her. "Something on your mind Wendy?" Aura asked dejected.

"Hmmm." Wendy said aloud, she was trying to think of the right thing to say but nothing was coming.

Eventually Aura, rose from the bar and headed towards the guild doors. "I better get ready for the mission." She said halfheartedly.

"Where are you staying?" Mirajane asked confused.

"Lucy is letting me stay at her place while she's out of town. All my things are there." She replied not looking back.

Aura reached her hand to open the doors but stopped when she heard someone call her name. It was Wendy.

"Hey Aura."

"Yeah?" Aura answered still depressed.

"You might have not been close to your mom in the future, but you're here now and both of your parents are alive." Wendy looked down nervously, "M-Maybe you came back in time to have a second chance at connecting with your family. So, you shouldn't be sad." She looked up and smiled.

Aura's eyes widened as she turned around and looked at Wendy. She saw the young girls smile and couldn't help but smile herself. It was a goofy, toothy smile, just like her Natsu's.

"Thanks Wendy." She said softly as she walked out of the guild hall.

Wendy walked back to the bar and sat next to Carla. "That was quite the speech Wendy." Carla said impressed as she sipped on her tea once more.

"Yeah you're pretty awesome Wendy." Happy added smiling.

Wendy began to blush and looked away embarrassed, "It was nothing, I was just saying what I thought was right."

"Well it was still a nice thing you did." Mirajane commented as she stood next to the trio, "Now she doesn't have to worry so much about being close to Erza."

"You're right." Wendy said smiling.

After a few moments of silence Carla spoke up, "Don't forget your training Wendy. Just because Aura is on a mission for the time being doesn't mean you can slack off.'

"I know Carla." Wendy said sulking.

…

A few hours later Aura was standing in front of the train to leave Magnolia. She was growing impatient as she looked at the clock in the station. *I've been standing here for an hour, where is she?* She began to tap her foot annoyed against the ground. *She's never this late.* *What the heck is taking her so long?*

"Aura." A stern voice called startling the girl so much she nearly jumped out of her skin.

She turned around and saw Erza standing behind her. The knight as usual had a mountain of bags she was pulling behind her. Aura looked up astonished, she knew Erza had a habit of over packing but it still amazed her that she brought so much for missions.

Suddenly Erza bowed down in front of Aura much to the young girl's surprise. "W-what are you doing?" Aura asked confused.

"I was tardy and as a result I kept you waiting. Please hit me for my transgression." Erza said still bowed, her tone was serious but Aura waved her hands in front herself nervously.

"That's okay it's not a big deal. I wasn't waiting long anyway." She laughed nervously.

"Are you sure?" Erza asked still serious.

"Y-yeah, it's fine really."

Erza returned to her upright position and grabbed her cart of luggage, "Alright then let's be on our way." She said nonchalantly as she walked past Aura and got on to the train, her demeanor returning to her original sternness. Aura looked at her quizzically for a few seconds before sighing and following the red haired wizard onto the train.

*Same old mom.*

The two found their seats, placing their luggage overhead before sitting across from each other. Both of them crossed their arms and their right leg over their left one while looking out of the window. For all those around them, it was like seeing the same person sitting across from themselves.

Erza slowly looked Aura up and down, trying to catch something that would help support her suspicions of Aura's origins. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until she noticed Aura wince and grab her forehead.

"Are you alright?" Erza asked slightly concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Aura let out a light chuckle, "I just get a bit light headed when I travel. I'll be fine in a minute." She chuckled a bit more before fainting. Erza grabbed her before she hit the bench.

"Aura?"

Aura answered weakly with a loopy look on her face, "I'm…fine hahaha."

Erza looked at her with a deadpan look as she held her. *Motion sickness? Well that narrows things down quite a bit.*

An hour later Aura awoke. She found herself staring at the ceiling of the train which was still in motion. She looked to her left to see Erza looking out of the window once more. Erza turned her head and their eyes met, Titania smiled warmly at the young girl causing Aura to feel a bit uneasy but also a bit happy.

"You're awake. Are you feeling better?" Erza inquired.

Aura rose to an upright position while rubbing her eyes. "Yes, I'm ok now. Thank you."

"Seems you have motion sickness." Erza said in a quizzical tone, trying to get something out of Aura.

"Yeah, I get a mild headache when I ride in vehicles. My parents could barely take me anywhere." Aura replied chuckling, avoiding Erza's perceptions as she looked out of the window once more. "Where are we?"

"We just departed from Hargeon a few minutes ago, so we should reach our destination by nightfall." Erza replied matter-of-fact.

"I see." Aura's eyes widened in astonishment as she watched the golden sun set, giving the horizon an awe inspiring golden hue. "It's beautiful." She said softly, "I've almost forgotten how beautiful sunsets could be." She said completely stuck in her own world now.

"So why did you want me for this mission anyway?" Aura asked still looking out of the window at the sun. She already had the sneaking suspicion that Erza chose her because of what she saw the previous night, but she just wanted to be sure.

"That's simple." Erza remarked smirking, "Your magic is just the right fit for this job."

"What's the job?"

"A search & rescue assignment, a young girl was kidnapped 2 days ago."

"Where was she taken from?"

"Lumina, but we won't know any more information until we reach the client."

"Who's the client?"

"The girl's mother and apparently their family is quite wealthy."

"Makes sense, kidnap a trust fund kid and wait for the parents to pay the ransom."

"Whatever the case, we have to find her and bring her back home."

"Yeah you're right." Aura replied smiling a bit as the sun's glow slowly began to fade.

Erza looked at Aura and smiled warmly. Looking at her now, it was almost hard to believe that she was a hardened warrior from the future, much less that they were around the same age. She wondered just how bad was the future was that she had become this way. It made her a bit sad thinking about it.

Aura looked out the window and thought of her life. Almost everyone she knew was gone, Kagura, Wendy, Jellal, Juvia, Gray, her father, her mother, and her sister. The only ones left were Levy & Millianna and who knows if they would still be alive when she returned, IF she returned at all.

"Aura…" Erza called her name somewhat doleful.

"Yes?"

"Why did you choose to come back in time?"

Aura looked at Erza confused, "I told you before, so we could stop Oracion Seis and Draven."

"I understand that but still why did you choose to come here? It's not as if helping us here will change your future will it?"

"No, it won't."

"Then what is the point of helping us when your time will still be under this Draven's control?"

Aura looked down sullenly and clasped her hands together, tightening her grip. "I made a promise."

"A promise?"

Aura began to think of all the people who sacrificed themselves in her time, everyone who had laid down their lives in order to make the future a safer place. Kagura, Jellal, Juvia, Lyon, Gray, Gajeel, Mirajane, Wendy, Luana, her father Natsu, and…

"Yeah I made a promise that no one else would suffer the same things we did. Even if it doesn't change my future, I at least want to ensure the safety of another one." She said darkly, her hands shaking with anger as she thought of Draven, his raspy, menacing laugh ringing in her ears.

She kept shaking until she felt a warm hand lay upon her clasped palms. She looked up slowly and saw Erza smiling down on her. "You're a brave girl. I'm sure your mother and father would be proud if they could see you now."

Erza sat back in her seat, still smiling at Aura as she removed her hand. Aura smiled back. "Yeah, I hope so."

"You should get some rest." Erza said almost motherly, "We still have a few hours until we arrive in Lumina's train station."

"Alright." Aura sat back and got comfortable. "You should get some sleep too Erza."

"Don't worry about me, I'll get some rest soon." She said smiling.

"Alright." Aura closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, soon and she was soon taken in by slumber.

Erza sat and watched her as she slept. *Aura, I wonder…* As she started to fall asleep, she noticed that Aura was tightly clutching her left forearm as she slept.

…

A few hours later the train stopped and the two disembarked. As they walked the night lit streets of Lumina, Aura couldn't help but reminisce about the battle that had taken place only a couple months ago. The fight between the members of Fairy Tail and Nightshade was a grueling one but in the end Aura succeed in her mission to convene with the Fairy Tail of the past. As she followed behind her mother, she found her more intimidating than her future counterpart, this version of her mother was more commanding, more imposing than the one she knew, it scared her more than she thought.

Curious about how things were progressing with Natsu, mostly to see if she was in danger of not existing, Aura asked what she thought was a pretty natural question. "So, how are things with Natsu?"

Erza stumbled suddenly, almost falling over before she caught herself with her left foot. "W-what?" her voice sound more surprised and embarrassed than anything.

Aura's eyes opened a bit in surprise as she asked again, "How are things going with you and Natsu? Mirajane told me you two were dating or something."

Erza's face turned as red as her hair as she listened to Aura's statement. "D-dating?!" She asked astonished "Me and N-Natsu? N-no." she denied albeit a bit nervously, turning around and facing Aura as her voice quaked nervously.

"Well what IS going on with you two then?"

"Natsu and I are…friends…just friends…I think." Erza replied uncharacteristically nervous, but Aura saw a subtle shift in her eyes, turning from nervous to serious in an instant.

"You think? What is that supposed to-"

"Let's hurry to the client's house." Erza replied quickly cutting Aura off as she began to walk with a much quicker pace.

"Huh?" Aura looked up to see Erza racing off, "Hey Erza wait up!" Aura yelled as she ran after her.

As Erza's pace began to slow down in the middle of the marketplace, giving Aura time to catch up. The young girl was nearly out of breath as she caught off. "What was that for? If you didn't wanna talk about it you could have just said so."

"It wasn't that." Erza's tone was much more composed than earlier as the pair made their way through the crowded streets of Lumina's marketplace. "While your questions did catch me off guard, it wasn't as nearly off-putting as I made it seem."

"Damn that Mirajane." Erza said lowly

"What?" Aura asked not hearing her

"Oh, it's nothing." Erza replied quickly

"Um, okay. Well then why did you run off like that?"

"Someone was watching us. I needed a way to shake them off."

"What?" Aura began to get in a fighting position before Erza stopped her.

"Don't worry they're gone now. The streets here in the market are filled with enough people that it conceals our presence, but stay on your guard."

"Who do you think they were?"

"Possibly a spy for Oracion Seis, they've been following us ever since we stopped in Hargeon."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Aura asked almost offended.

"I didn't want to worry you if it turned out to be nothing."

"Well what do you think they are doing now?"

"Their most likely reporting back to their masters."

"Shouldn't we be worried?" Aura asked slightly confused as she looked at Erza

"Not right now, they don't know what we're doing in Lumina so that's gives us some breathing room."

"I guess."

Erza smirked as the two came up to the bridge that connecting the marketplace with Lumina's downtown area. "Come one, the client's home is just beyond the bridge.

…

A lone figure made their way to the top of a tower in the middle of a dense forest in the thick cover of darkness. It appeared before the five ominous members of Oracion Seis and kneeled before them in reverence. "I have returned my lords." The figure said with its head bowed.

"What do you have to report?" Midnight asked, all the while looking at the crystal prison that housed Draven. It shined brilliantly, illuminating the dark room they were standing in.

"Erza Scarlet has been spotted in Lumina." The spy replied with his head still bowed.

"What is she doing there?" Angel asked mischievously, she was standing on the far side of the room, her back against the wall as she filed her nails.

"I'm not certain ma'am, they evaded me before I could gather more information."

'They?" Midnight said surprised, turning his attention towards his subordinate.

"Yes sir, she was with a girl about the same age as her. She had long red hair like Erza Scarlet but a shade darker, around her forehead was blood red bandana, she also wore black pants that were cut off just above her ankles, and she wore a shirt with one long sleeve, the other had been torn off. She also has a Fairy Tail guild mark on her shoulder."

"Who is she?" Racer asked with a choleric tone as he walked towards the spy.

"It doesn't matter who she is, it's not like she'll make much of a difference in a few months." Midnight responded, stopping Racer's advance "What about the rest of them?"

"Sir. The Fairy Tail guild hall is all but empty save Mirajane Strauss, Makarov Dreyar, and Wendy Marvell. Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser have been secluded upon Mt. Hakobe for the past month. Gajeel Redfox has been seen in Oak Town and Lucy Heartfilia has been visiting a gravesite on the outskirts of the land once belonging to the Heartfilia Konzern."

"What of Natsu Dragneel?" Midnight asked expectantly

The spy gulped loudly and began to sweat "I…don't know sir." He let out nervously.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Midnight angrily grabbed the spy by the collar and held him into the air, choking him.

The spy struggled to breathe as his feet dangled in the air. "He…\*kaff\*…he was training at his home but as of yesterday, we…we can't get a fix on his location." Midnight dropped the spy back to the ground. The spy grabbed his neck and breathe heavily trying to regain his as he returned to his kneeling position.

"Find him!" Midnight commanded, "Salamander is much too dangerous to be left unchecked."

"Y-Yes sir." The figure stood up and bowed one more time before vanishing into the darkness.

"What about the other guilds." Midnight asked the other members of Oracion Seis as he walked back towards the crystal.

"Blue Pegasus has been more or less normal." Angel replied looking at her nails.

"So has Lamia Scale." Cobra chimed in bored as his snake Cubellios hissed behind him.

"What about the other seals that house Draven's power?"

"Those Tri-Men and their creepy boss took down the Krachin outside of Hargeon, I doubt the fools even knew what they were doing." Angel replied as she laughed

"My guys told me that Jura & Lyon Vastia defeated the Brodour in the middle of Shirotsume. They said that they questioned where the thing came from but otherwise they haven't done anything else." Cobra reported as he rubbed his hand under Cubellios' head.

"I see. Keep a closer eye on them, we don't want anyone else meddling with us." Midnight commanded.

"On it."

"So Fairy Tail is the only one acting weird?" Klodoa asked shrilly as he jostled around in Midnight's hand. "They were the ones that beat the Gracio right? If I remember right the girl that killed the thing is the same girl with Erza Scarlet." The staff surmised.

"It also seems like they're preparing for something." Angel said with a hint of worry in her voice, "Do you think they know about our plans?"

"Perhaps, but that's impossible. We've kept ourselves well hidden these past few months." Midnight replied as he placed his hand under his chin to think.

"You think the new guy squealed?" Racer asked.

"Maybe," Midnight replied grimly, "Bring him here Racer, he should still be hanging around the outskirts of Auron."

"On it boss, I'll be back in 2 hours." And with that Racer was gone, his speed magic taking him away from the gathering before anyone could blink.

"What do you want the rest of us to do?" Cobra asked as he stood against the wall opposite Angel.

"For now we wait until we figure out just what Fairy Tail knows." Midnight moved his hands along the cracks now forming on the surface of the crystal prison. "The seal is almost broken, but if what Klodoa said is true…" Midnight smirked, "We probably should keep a closer eye on that girl."