{ON HIATUS} Destiny Mages: A Fairy Tail Fanfic

Chapter 6: Demon

"Renata, wake up! Renata!"

A female voice stirred the mage from her state of drowsiness. She felt hard ground beneath her, and sat up slowly. A jolt of pain shot through her head.

"Oww..." she mumbled, putting a hand to her forehead. Hearing a sigh of relief, Renata opened her eyes to see the entire of Team Natsu crowded around her. She blinked. "Hi, guys. How long was I out?"

Wendy leaned in. "About five minutes. Doesn't look like you need healing...was it just over-exertion?"

Renata shook her head. "Something...entirely different. Oh, and Erza, did you defeat that Powell guy?" When the redhead nodded, Renata attempted to stand up. She did so, albeit shakily. Lucy lent her some support, and Renata began walking slowly back in the direction of the camp. A warm hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Natsu indignantly. The silver-haired mage turned slowly to look at him. "To get my bag, and then we have to retrieve the reward money. And then...I have something I want to investigate."

Erza frowned. "Is it about the guild mark on Anthe? You're right, we have to tell Master about that. But first, explain why you collapsed when you saw the mark."

Renata froze. "Umm..it was nothing..." she muttered nervously. Gray was staring suspiciously at her, and she flinched.

"You're hiding something," he said accusingly. Renata looked at the ground.

"Trust me, you don't really want to know. It's personal." Her voice was quiet. Her hands twisted together and her wings slumped against her back.

Lucy stepped forwards. "Whatever it is, we can help." The blonde Celestial Mage was smiling."And Gray, don't be rude." Wendy added.

Renata sat down on a nearby rock. "What was that guild mark?" she asked Erza.

"It's the mark of a dark guild appropriately called Dark Eden."

Renata let out a long sigh. "Okay. I'll start there," she added in an undertone to herself. The girl straightened up.

"When I saw that guild mark, visions or memories of some sort came back to me that I had forgotten. They were all of me at a young age, along with a girl that was a few years older than I was. She had indigo hair like the night, and dark pink eyes that both penetrated and shielded...and she was my sister."

Everyone was frozen in a state of surprise.

"You...have a sister?!" muttered Gray, his eyebrows shooting into his hair. Natsu had virtually the same expression, with his jaw hanging down.

"I can't believe it..." Lucy breathed, exchanging a look with Wendy.

"...do you know her name?" asked Erza carefully.

Renata nodded, her eyes intense. "My sister's name is Akashi." There was another gasp.

The scarlet-haired mage ignored the sound and furrowed her brows. "You intend to find her, don't you?" Renata nodded again.

"Something tells me I need to find her no matter what happens. And if she has ties to Dark Eden, I'll start by searching there." Her voice was strong with conviction.

"W-wait a minute!" exclaimed Lucy in a trembling voice. "Renata, your sister is named Akashi, right? By any chance, is her last name...Nightscar?"

The two girls' eyes met, and a ripple created by the word Nightscar flashed through Renata's head.

"Yes. Yes, it is."

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed, during which Lucy's jaw dropped and Erza stared at Renata in surprise.