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“I'm surprised you remember that, Hawks,” Sy said. “Moving on, Lucy, Hawks, could I speak to you both for a moment in my office.”
“Of course,” “Sure,” they both said.
“Thank you, everyone else, I'll be just a moment. You can chat amongst yourself.” she looked towards Lucy and Hawks. “Follow me.”
They followed Sy into her private office and Hawks shut the door. Sy sat down and had a serious look on her face.
“Is… Something wrong?” Hawks asked, confused.
“Yes,” Sy said sadly.
“There's… been an accident… in Mystic's home world. I plan to tell her when she wakes up, but honestly, I'm not sure how she will take the news. You two have become her closest friends and I'd like it if you were there.” Sy said solemnly.
“Of course,” Lucy said with a smile.
“What happened?” Hawks asked concerned.
“It's.. About her grandmother. There was a fi–” Sy was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Yes?” Sy asked.
“Miss Sy? It's Mystic. She's awake.” Wendy's voice called through the door.
“Ah, we will be right there,” Sy yelled through the door. Turning back to the others “Guess it's time. Let's go.”
They walked into the infirmary to see Rena surrounded by everyone. Erza had Grey and Natsu in a chokehold. Happy and Carla were flying just above. Midoriya was asking Mystic a million questions, Bakugo was leaning back with a pissed-off look, and Todoroki was lingering behind.
Mystic was sitting with a soft smile on her face, laughing at everyone's usual antics.
“Excuse me, I would love for everyone to continue having fun. Especially since Mystic is awake and well, however, I have something urgent I need to speak to her about. Can you all give us the room? Hawks, Lucy, I need you two to stay.”
“Aw, but we want to stay. We haven't seen Mystic in so long! Why does Lucy get to stay?” Natsu whined, earning a bump on the head from Erza.
“I understand but this… This can't wait.” Sy said, averting her eyes to the ground.
Everyone was a little surprised by the sudden mood change. Sy was always so focused, calm, and collected. Seeing her with sadness in her eyes made the atmosphere awkward.
Quickly, everyone left the room, leaving Mystic, Sy, Hawks, and Lucy.
“What's with this atmosphere? I only got a little hurt. I didn't die or anything.”
“R-Mystic. It's about your grandmother. There was an accident. She–”
“Died.” Rena finished her sentence.
“Yes. I'm sorry.” Sy said softly.
“It's ok, we… We weren't all that close.” Rena said turning her head.
“Yes I figured as much but the problem is the accident itself. There was a fire… and the number one suspect… was your father. He was wanted for arson and murder. ” Sy said coldly.
“Was?” Rena asked.
“He was later found dead from a gunshot wound. Believed to be from his own gun, however, it's not believed to be suicide.”
“Oh.” Rena’s face dropped.
She wasn't too bothered by her grandmother passing away. But if it was because of the fire, because she was murdered by her father, what should she feel? She didn't know her father, she barely knew her grandmother. So why did it sting? She shouldn’t care, right? They didn't care about her, so why should she care about them?
She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Resting her chin on top of her knees she let out a sigh. “So I really am all alone now huh?” She said as a tear started to fall down her cheek.
“No, you're not alone, Mystic. You have all of us at Fairy Tail remember? We're your family now.” Lucy said with a smile.
“Yeah, but for how long? I can't live in your world and when all of this is over I probably won't see any of you again.” Rena mumbled.
“You might not be able to be with us but you'll have the memories. Happy memories to take the place of the bad ones.” Lucy continued.
“I suppose..” Rena said looking off into the void. Suddenly her vision was infected with the fluttering of a red feather.
“Listen kid, you are strong. Your will is as strong as the top heroes. You could give Endeavor a run for his money. You might feel alone but you are surrounded by friends who are your new family. Even if you can't see us again, you can always make new ones when you go back home.” Hawks said with a soft smile. A real smile, not his fake hero smile, showing he meant every word.
Rena sat up, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and smiled.
“You guys are right. Thank you. Um.. could I have a moment…. To myself?”
“Are you sure?” Sy asked.
“I don't think you should be alone right now,” Hawks added.
“I'm fine. Just need a moment to process is all.” Rena replied softly.
“Alright. You know where we will be when you need us. “ Sy smiled gently as they all left the room.
Once they were gone the tears fell. Rena rested her face in her hands. After a few minutes, she took a deep breath, looked up towards the sky, and smiled.
“Hey mom…”
~~~~~~
Once the others were back in the main part of the lab, the tension was still a bit awkward.
Erza spoke first. “How is she doing? Is everything alright?”
“She received some heavy news from back home, I can't say for sure if she's alright. She'll have to assure you that herself. In the meantime, we have some business to take care of… Hawks..”
“Yes ma'am?” he said.
“Can you tell me what happened out there?” Sy asked.
Hawks' face dropped into a frown as he looked to the ground in remorse and frustration “I was almost too late… he… Had her strapped to an operating table… he was holding a knife above her chest. If I had been one second later she’d…”
“But you weren't. You made it in time. What happened after that?” Sy asked.
Hawks snapped his head towards her. He was frustrated and a bit angry now. “What happened? What happened to you being her backup? I was miles away. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't felt her squeeze my feather? You were supposed to be watching and alert me when anything went wrong!”
“Yes. I know. I was watching until she stepped out of the elevator. As soon as she did there was interference and I lost all signal. While I was attempting to get it back, that's when everything here went code red and we were being hacked.”
“So with all this technology, you had no way to reach either of us? Seems a bit–” he started but was interrupted.
“I am well aware of the issue this caused. This isn't the first time this happened. It happened in her first encounter with Ryker too. I'm starting to think they have something that is causing these interferences. I'm really hoping the attempted hacking isn't from someone on their side.”
“Tch. If I was there she wouldn't have been in danger. So much for being the number two hero. I'll pass you in no time” Bakigo smirked.
“Kacchan!” Midoryia yelped.
Hawks turned and snipped “Don't be so cocky kid. This goes beyond what you think. It's bigger than the League of Villains themselves.”
“Whatever. They are just a bunch of wannabes. I'll murder them the next time I see them. I still need to pay them back for kidnapping me.” he growled.
“Moving on.. In the battle, what can you tell me about Odysseus?” Sy said as she moved to her computer and started typing.
“I can't say much. I was busy holding off that Ryker dude.” Hawks said, crossing his arms. “What I did see is that he is extremely powerful. Mystic even said we couldn't fight him.”
Aviv chimed in “Yes. He was not that strong before. Not even in the trial when he took Aza’s essence. He must have taken more.”
“Did he get any of yours?” Sy asked.
“I can't say. That scientist took some but I don't know what became of it afterwards. It wasn't a lot but it was enough that someone could do some damage if they figure out how to use it.” Aviv said plainly.
“This scientist, what can you tell me about him?” Sy asked.
“He said he was from another world.” Hawks chimed in.
“.. What? How is that possible?” Sy's eyes perked up.
“Not sure, but that's what I overheard. He also knew Mystic wasn't from that world either. He said everyone has a base code or something that ties them to their world.” Hawks continued.
“Base code?” Suddenly, Sy shot up. “Wait. What was his name again?”
“His name is Kage,” Rena said as she entered the lab.
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