Ever After

A Second Meeting

*YOUR POV*

I stared at the person sitting on the bed. "Ashley?" My sister walked over and hugged me.

"Yes. I'm sorry that I had to be so discreet and secretive, what with the morse code and everything, but I had to see you!" I pulled back, holding my sister's hands.

"I'm happy to see you, Ash, don't get me wrong, but why did you need to see me?" Ashley's eyes darkened slightly as she turned away.

"Right now, two of my guild members are going out there to fight. Lyon and Yuka. And they're up again Kagura and Milliana, both mages who've defeated their opponents. Kagura even took out a Sabertooth guild member! I'm worried, but not for the safety of my fellow guild mates. I know they can handle themselves. I'm worried that they'll be corrupted." I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"Corrupted? Sis, what do you mean? You're not making any sense." Ashley took a deep breath.

"You remember how when we first reunited, I mentioned needing Erza's help, because Lamia Scale was corrupt?" I nodded. "Well, it's not an issue with the guild. I discovered that the source if the corruption comes from outside our guild, and attaches to members only in close combat. In other words, Lyon and Yuka are in big trouble if they fight. Kagura uses gravity manipulation to get close to her targets, which would qualify as close combat and leave them open for corruption." I was silent for a moment, taking everything in, until a thought occurred to me.

"Ash, what do you mean by 'corruption?' You never really explained that to me." She hesitated, not meeting my eyes. "Ashley, please. If I'm going to help you, I need to know everything." She sighed.

"A couple months ago, some of my guild mates started acting weird." I held up a hand.

"Who exactly? And define weird."

"Sheria and Toby. They'd been normal up until a month ago. Sheria had been her happy self, talking about love. Toby was searching for his favorite sock, as usual. But then... I don't know how to explain it, but it was if something in them had snapped. Suddenly Sheria became more malicious, and whenever someone mentioned love, she looked almost deranged, as if the very word scalded her. Toby became crazy, having psychotic breaks where he would claw and bite frantically at whatever was nearest, including us. They became the complete opposite of their own personalities, but driven to the extreme. And I don't know why. I signaled to you, not even knowing if you knew morse code, but knowing you'd ask Erza if you didn't, and either way, I'd get someone who could help." I remained silent, taking it all in, before speaking, choosing my words carefully.

"So, this all started happening a month ago?" My sister nodded. "And has it kept happening?"

"Well, no... But they wouldn't act this way unless something was seriously wrong! Please, Y/N, you have to believe me! Nobody else has. You're my only hope." I nodded slowly.

"Ashley, I do believe you, but I don't know why this would happen or what could've sparked it in any way, so I'm not particularly helpful at the moment. Was there anything you noticed? Something strange or out of the ordinary? Something that doesn't normally occur or make an appearance in your guild hall?" Ashley paused, thinking.

"Now that you mention it, yes. Oba, our guild master, has been keeping to herself a lot more than usual. She's always been reclusive, but not like this. Could that be something?" I smiled.

"Whatever it is, it's more than we had before, which is good. Do you think you could get close to her, enough to find out why she's being so secretive?" Ashley nodded.

"I'll try. But for now, we should both return to the match, just so no one notices we're missing." I nodded and cautiously stepped into the hallway. It was clear, so I signaled to Ashley, who stepped out as well and took off, heading back to her guild. I turned and headed to mine as well, thinking about the discussion. Why was Oba being so secretive?  What was she hiding? And could it have anything to do with Toby and Sheria's sudden change in behavior? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.