Two weeks since last update, let's try to keep it like that, ok? We're slowly shifting into the main part of the story so the rating will go up to M in a couple of chapters, too. Other than that, enjoy.

Chapter 6: Intermission

The physician didn't comment on Jellal's injuries and Jellal was grateful for that. Besides, it was more than likely that the rumour mill was already spreading the facts that Jellal had followed obviously angry Erza into the training grounds and had then turned up at the physician's office half-an-hour later, beaten up. Even those who were slower in thinking would be able to connect the dots without too much of an effort.

"You just have bruising on your chest and side. None of the ribs are cracked so that's a good news. Your nose is fine, too, not broken at all. Your jaw is bruised so once it swells, you might feel pain when moving it. Two of your teeth are loose but overall, you should heal in less than a week."

"Thank you," Jellal mumbled as the physician turned away, busying himself with preparing some kind of poultice.

"Put this on the bruises. It speeds up the healing."

Walking out of the office, Jellal felt every place that Erza had hit him in ache. And from what he had understood of her words, he was in for more of the same treatment later on, all under the disguise of training him so he wouldn't be a burden on the journey to Umbria.

"The things I do for this country," he muttered sarcastically before a stab of guilt assaulted his conscience. Yes, he was doing it for Edolas and he would better remember that.

"You look terrible," his father's voice tore him out of his thoughts. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing, father," Jellal replied, slowing down to compensate for his father's shuffling steps.

"That doesn't look like nothing," Faust appraised his son. "You look like someone who got on the bad side of Erza's temper."

A slight twitch of Jellal's face let the former King know he was right. Well, well, that was interesting.

"What did you say to her?"

"Just the truth."

"Ah, she didn't take it well, I guess."

"Her initial reaction was a graphic description of how much she wants to kill me."

"And then tried to do it?" Faust hadn't thought Erza would have taken it so badly.

"No," Jellal shook his head in negative and immediately regretted it when a splitting pain hit him behind the eyes. "It was just a demonstration of what she could do to me if she chose to and how I would be unable to stop her."

"So, a physical pain with an added dose of humiliation. Sounds just like her," Faust nodded approvingly and Jellal shot him a dark glare.

"I am your son," he pointed out but Faust leveled a reproaching gaze at him.

"Do you really want to go into how not filial you have behaved in the recent years?"

"No," Jellal sighed. "I think I'm going to lay down and try to recuperate a bit before the evening."

"Why?"

"I'm going to Umbria with Erza and she said she would assess my combat skills this evening."

Faust winced at that. An assessment in Erza's mind meant throwing her all at her opponent and then pointing out all of their flaws. After she had exploited them mercilessly, of course. He had seen her use this tactic with new recruits often enough to be able to imagine how much pain Jellal was going to be in at the end of it all.

"I would have a physician close by," he advised before parting from his son and heading for late breakfast.

"I'll keep that in mind," Jellal called out before limping to his room to get at least a little rest and lick his wounds, metaphorically speaking.

Tiny sparkles of light danced around the room, reflecting on the ancient stone walls, the source of light being a giant crystal half submerged in water in the middle of the room. A young woman leaned over the age of the natural pond, wiggling her fingers in the water.

"It's really thick," she commented. "It doesn't feel like a water at all."

"It's not a water, that's why," a deeper voice replied to her and she looked over at a man who was nonchalantly leaning against the remains of a pillar.

"I know, Bozu," the woman frowned at the dark-skinned bald man. "It still looks like a water, though."

"I know better than to argue with ya," Bozu said and the woman stuck out a tongue at him. "How long are ya gonna sit here, anyway, Sue?"

"I like it here. It's so... peaceful," Sue said, looking back at the crystal. "I have never seen a lachrima like this. It even feels different."

"Bozu! Sue!" another voice echoed through the cavernous space and a man emerged at the far side of the room, barely visible in the dim light being casted from the lachrima.

"Totomaru!" Sue waved cheerfully at him. "What's up?"

The man named Totomaru came closer, the tattoos on his face standing up in stark contrast to his skin.

"Master is going to give a speech. Aria finally managed to harness that small piece of lachrima we chipped off of this one."

Sue jumped to her feet and Bozu straightened.

"For real?" they cried out in unison. Totomaru nodded and grinned.

"Very soon, we'll be able to use magic again."

"Who'd have thought?" Bozu said quietly, gazing at his surroundings. "Everyone thought that magic was gone for good and bam! A source is found in the middle of nowhere."

"Literally," Sue grumbled. "Umbria is soooo backwards it's not even funny."

"Be glad to be alive," Totomaru admonished. "I have seen what Fairy Hunter did to some of the other mages. She's a demon in a human skin."

"Whatever. Say, are the rumours true? About those disasters striking Edolas?"

"Master knows more, he will tell us."

Hurrying down the long corridor and avoiding some of the places where the masonry had crumbled down to nothing, the three of them emerged into a large courtyard already filled with many other people. They were just milling around as if waiting for something to start. Some of them kept to the edges of the place, avoiding the sun rays that were beating down on them mercilessly. The others ignored the discomfort and talked in hushed voices among each other. An expectant silence fell on the crowd as a large door in the back opened and a tall, black dressed man strode out, followed by another man even larger than him.

The tall man walked purposefully through the crowd, his face hidden in a shadow of a large hat. People made space for him almost reverently and he seemed to bask in the attention. Coming to a stop at a makeshift podium, he climbed on it and turned to the crowd, the other man quietly taking a place to his right.

"My dear fellow mages and refugees from the Edolas' law. Long have we been hiding in the shadows. Long have we been looking over our shoulders for a coming danger. Long have we been denied our rights. But no more!" he thundered. "They say magic is gone from the rest of the world. They say the world is being hit by many natural disasters. They say that Edolas' rule is crumbling down even as I speak. And that is good. That is justice. That is a rightful retribution for the evil done to us. We have done no wrong. The Kingdom targeted us because we didn't become its obedient lapdogs. The Kingdom tried to get rid of us because we didn't fit into their vision of the world. The Kingdom killed our friends and colleagues and called it a just thing. And now, it's time for us to take back what is rightfully ours."

He stepped forward, his eyes sweeping along the crowd, catching gazes of those who knew him and holding them for a moment each.

"Many of you know me. I am Jose Fiebra. I used to be the Guild Master of the Phantom Lord mage guild. After the order to disband came to us, we tried to resist and the Kingdom crushed us down easily. They had more magic and more people than us and we had to disgracefully leave Edolas. They sent us to Umbria, thinking that the nothingness in here would crush our spirits. But they were wrong about that because the nothingness of Umbria yielded us a price above all others," a sweeping gesture of his arm encompassed the ruined ancient city they were in. "These ruins have been here since before the Kingdom. The people who built them are long gone but their city still stands and it has provided us with a shelter far from the shore and those who seek to do the same as the Kingdom and control us. But there is a greater gift, yet. You know about the underground room and what is found there. A lachrima unlike any other. And we have finally uncovered its secrets. Aria," Jose stepped back, yielding the stage to the large man.

Aria stepped forward, his face an emotionless mask. He lifted a short tube that several mages recognized as a tool of air magic. None of the magic tools had been working for over two months. But as everyone caught their breath in anticipation, Aria activated it and a sudden gust of wind swept over the audience. People gasped in wonder but the demonstration was not yet at the end. Carefully manipulating the tube, Aria raised into the air, held there by the air magic.

And as it settled down in people's mind that what they were seeing was real, they burst into an applause, calling out Jose's name periodically. The man himself smiled tightly and stepped forward, shouting over the crowd.

"It's time for us to take back what is rightfully ours and these ruins gave us the means to do that. We will rise again, under the banner of the Phantom Lord. Are you going with us?"

The resounding yes echoed long around the courtyard, slowly fading into the excited murmurs of the people who had just gained back their hope and pride. Jose nodded to himself. Yes, it was time to reclaim what had been lost. And with the situation in the rest of the world being as it was, there was no one who would be able to stop them. The future was suddenly brighter than ever before.

A/N: Shorter chapter but important to the plot. You didn't think that I would make it easy on Jellal and Erza to shut down the anti-magic, did you? Anyway, the crystal in the water thing was inspired by Final Fantasy VII and its Mako caves with Materia. Materia and lachrima are, after all, very similar in usage, aren't they?