DISCLAIMER: NO ONE IN FANFIC OWNS ANYTHING BUT THEIR OC's! unless a professional author randomly decides to write stories here, which I would find very odd.
A/N: Finally got around to do this! And from the looks of it, I'm the only (active)shipper for S.S. LaxTear (Laxus x Ultear), which is kind of sad. I can't describe what they have. We haven't really seen these two interact so it's not 'chemistry'. It's more to do their backstory. Laxus had an unwavering faith in his dad as a kid, while Ultear simply gave up on believing her mother's love for her, but both of them ended up being WRONG. If they somehow had the chance to partner up in Canon and somehow manage to talk about each other's past as a kid, I'm sure it could spark a very beautiful relationship of a man and a woman patching each other up.
But this fic isn't like that. LOL
PREMISE:
When Acnologia had lost his mind and turned on the dragons, it was not just five dragons that choose to fight him, it was ten dragons. Bound together by a common goal, Igneel and four other dragons decided they needed to recover their strength to properly defeat Acnologia, thus they planned to send themselves to the future to regain their power with their Dragon Slayers. However, the other five dragons had their doubts with the plan as they had no guarantee they would return to a world not ruled or destroyed by the self-proclaimed Dragon King. These five dragons chose to stay behind, to sacrifice themselves and fight Acnologia head on to make sure the Igneel and the other dragons would return to a world that was not ravaged by Acnologia.
And on the day Igneel's party left Earthland, the five dragons fought Acnologia directly, sealing him away for 100 years but at the cost of one of their own. Once the 100 years passed, Acnologia was released from his prison and the dragons rose up once more, fighting the damned Dragon King with the same results. Each time, they had to sacrifice one of their number, just to make sure the other dragons succeeded in sealing the Betrayer away and leaving the world at peace, if only temporarily.
And now, only one dragon was left. Alastor Monaxia, King of Edeoceas, makes his final stand. However, the past 400 years have made him paranoid, and there was still no sign of Igneel and the other dragons arriving from the past. Worried that Igneel and his group might still fail against Acnologia, despite all that the dragons have sacrificed, Alastor makes his own plans to better the chances at victory and ensure the survival of his race.
Dialogue Guide:
"Laxus" - Normal Speech
"Calcos" - Normal Speech but in a different language
'Ultear' - Thinking/thoughts
"Alastor" - Dragon/Beast speech or Humans growling/shouting
'Igneel' - Dragon/Beast thoughts
BOOOOM! -Sound Effects (No apostrophes)
- Magnolia -
- X768 -
Marianne Dreyar woke to the sound of thunder hitting far too close for her liking. She sat up on the queen-sized bed she rarely ever felt comfortable in and listened to the world around her. Lightning flashed through the curtains again, lighting up the room for but a moment, but it was enough for her to look at the clock hanging on the wall and showing that it was close to half past 11 PM.
There was a thunderstorm above the sky's of Magnolia, and any sane person was taking shelter inside their home, lest they become an accidental lightning rod. Inside her home, however, was eerily quiet. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong, that she had to get up and check if everything was alright or not. She looked to the other side of her bed and found that her 'husband' is missing. She had seen him in the house earlier, he even had dinner with her and their son, which was a rarity in of itself, but the fact that he was missing now made her feel uneasy.
With her heart starting to pound in worry, she got up from her bed, wearing only her sky blue bed jacket over her white nightgown. She exited into the quiet hall and made her way down to her son's room. The wooden planks creaked with each step she made, increasing her uneasiness to the whole situation.
Soon enough, she was in front of the white door that led into her son's room. She grabbed the doorknob, twisted it, and gently pushed the door open.
"Laxus? Are you awake dear?" She whispered as she poked her head to peer into the room. The room was clean, for a seven-year-old child. Various wizard and guild posters were hung up on the walls, a bookshelf half filled with storybooks was set to one side of the wall, next to it was a desk with a beginners Magic book lying open, there was a closet adjacent to that with today's clothes hanging out, and a nightstand with pictures of her and Laxus together. Marianne, however, ignored all of this and zeroed in on her son's bed. Then she gasped.
His bed was empty.
"Laxus! Where are you?!" She shouted, barging into the room. She tapped the bed repeatedly with her arms, hoping it was just a trick of the light.
Still, the bed was empty.
She then knelt down to the floor, checking if her son was hiding under the bed due to the storm.
He was not there.
"Laxus!" She cried, running out of the room. She ran to the bathroom, the guest room, then went down the stairs and checked the kitchen and living room, each time calling out for her son, her precious baby boy. "Laxus, if you can hear mommy, please answer me!"
There was no answer. Marianne felt her heart beat against her chest. She had looked everywhere in their own home with no success.
Her house was empty. There was no sign of her son anywhere. The bad feeling in her gut only kept increasing as the second's tick by.
She no longer had a choice. She had to get help. She quickly ran out of her home, not giving care to the state of her attire or that of her own safety as she wore nothing but her nightgown and bed jacket. There was only one place that would not turn her away, and one person she could go to. To the Guildhall of Fairy Tail and her father-in-law, Makarov Dreyar.
- East Forest -
Lightning flashed in the cloudy night sky, lighting up the East Forest in the outskirts of Magnolia for the briefest of seconds. The thunderstorm tonight raged like that of an angry god as he was about to strike down the heretics against him. There was no rain, but people still stayed in the safety of their homes, lest they attract the god's wrath down on their heads.
A second lightning strike burst out through the night, revealing a hooded man traveling along the forest path. His face was obscured in shadow as he pulled a small cart behind him with its content covered to either protect it from the weather or hide it from the prying eyes of the god above. Either way, the man just silently pulled the cart and kept walking along the forest path.
The wind started to blow. At first, it was just a breeze. But as the man continued deeper into the woods, the trees began to cry out as their leaves were starting to get blown away. Soon, the wind itself started to sound like the wailing of tortured souls. Still, the man continued to walk.
After what seemed like hours, the man finally made into a clearing. A group of men were already there. They were a rough looking group, one that no one would hesitate to call bandits. In truth, that's what they were. And by the looks on their faces, they wanted to get away from the storm and the forest as soon as possible, which works for the hooded man. As he approached the group, one bandit stepped forward with a lantern in his hand, lighting the small area around them. "Do you have the payment?!" The bandit yelled out, fearing that the wind will overpower any kind of normal conversation.
The man with the cart nodded, and ripped the cover of the cart, revealing several tied up sacks and a spiky blonde haired boy wearing a red shirt with a lightning-shaped design and blue pants and black shoes. The boy was sleeping soundly despite the wails of nature around him. The man reached for one of the sacks and tossed it to the bandit. He untied it and looked inside to see half a million worth in Jewels shining at him.
"You got what I want?" The hooded man asked, his voice oddly booming without the need to shout.
The bandit nodded eagerly and turned back to his companions. "Hey! Bring it!" He yelled at them.
Promptly, two other bandits came forward, carrying a small chest. They stopped right in front of the hooded man and opened the chest, revealing a lacrima in the shape of a large scale, as big as a dragon's.
The hooded man grinned wickedly and reached down to the lacrima. He gestured to the bandits to take the sacks of Jewels. The bandits didn't waste time and got all the bags on the cart, wanting to just end the transaction already.
As the bandits got the last sack, the one with the lantern stepped to the hooded man and said: "With this, our business is complete!"
The hooded man nodded, then turned to the young boy in the cart.
"H-Hey, you're really going to use it on the brat?!" The bandit asked.
"What's it to you?" The hooded man asked back.
"Seems like a waste! If my boss didn't want the jewels, I'd use the lacrima on myself!" The bandit declared.
The hooded man stopped for a second. Then he turned his head to look at the bandit with a tilt. "And that's why you're an idiot."
"Ha?!" The bandit sputtered, too dumbstruck to retort at being called an idiot.
"Dragon Slayer Magic lacrimas are rare aren't they?" The man queried, and the bandit nodded. "They're also dangerous. Incredibly dangerous. If you don't have enough strength, you'll die using it you know? But you see, this brat here just so happens to have the right element for this lacrima, so like this, if I use it on him, he'll have a high chance of survival.
"Ah, but he's a weakling! It's too much power for him anyway, and it will end up just a waste!" The man chuckled, looking down to the lacrima in his hand.
"So... Why?" The bandit asked, though his voice was nearly blown in the wind.
"Hehehe, even if he's a weak brat, in the future, once he's grown up a little and gain a little power, I'll just take the lacrima back from him and sell it!" The man exclaimed ecstatically. "The lacrima will then hold a lot more power! It'll sell for twice- No, ten times as much by then! Hihihi! Hahahahaha!"
The bandit broke out in cold sweat as he watched the hooded man laugh like a madman. He kept silent as he just watched him walk up to the kid and hold the lacrima over him. In truth, the bandit felt pity for the brat. He might be a bandit, robbing and stealing from people, as well as the odd kill in a raid or two, but at least he can say he's not twisted enough to use some kid like some guinea pig he's going to fatten up to sell to the market.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Just as the man was about to insert the lacrima into the child, lightning struck the clearing, blinding everyone there in a great flash of light. Thunder rang in their ear, and they were deafened to the world around them.
"FURES! PRAEDONES! EXTERMINATI SUNT!"
Even while their ears were still ringing from the explosion of thunder, a great voice echoed in the forest and resounded deep into the men's souls. Each syllable was slow and unhurried, yet echoed like thunder. Soon, their vision cleared. Some of the bandits realized they had fallen to their knees, while others had landed on their rear ends. The hooded man, however, was able to remain standing.
As the men regained their vision, they saw, there, from across the cart, stood a beast of legends. Its blue eyes shining like stars in the night, while lightning bolts crackled along its body. With each bolt, it's aqua-green scales glowed in the night while its underside continuously shone a pale silver color. Its claws and talons were jet black, like obsidian, promising a sharp and quick end to their foe. The Great bat-like wings on it's back were unfurled, making the beast seem larger than it already was. Golden spikes grew along the spine, shoulders, and forelimbs, all the while pulsing with aqua-green energy. The beast had a slender neck attached to its robust body. It had a triangular head, with a snout that held rows of sharp teeth and two golden horns on top of its head like a regal crown of a King.
It was a dragon.
A real, living, breathing, thunder dragon.
And it looked at them with fury in its eyes.
"Nonne putas te posse celare mea vere a me temporis acti?! Dalcops! Membrorum tuorum, et seorsum pascat te erunt-!" The dragon growled and roared at them in its dragon tongue, but just as it seemed like he was about to meet out their verdict, the legendary beast paused and looked down to the hooded man and the child.
It blinked. Once. Twice. Then it lowered its massive head and took a closer look at the two, before taking one big sniff of the child.
The dragon seemed to pause as if it was in thought. It stared at the man as he held the lacrima over the boy, then the child, then back to the man, and back and forth between them. The whole clearing held its breath. Even the howling wind seemed to have turned into soft whispering as if this scene was the most important one in the world.
"You... Human..." The dragon spoke, to everyone's shock, in human tongue. "Are you this child's father?" It probed.
The hooded man said nothing, though his mouth was wide open. He just nodded his answer to the beast.
"Hmm..." The dragon hummed, considering something in its thoughts. "Is the child... Sick?" The beast asked, curiosity in its voice.
As the atmosphere had suddenly changed, the hooded man gawks openly as his mind tried to catch up to the dragon's change of mood. Before he could respond, he felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down to the source and found the first bandit he talked to, had just jabbed him with his elbow. He looked to the bandit and saw him mouth the words "Just go with it!"
Frowning, the hooded man turned back to the dragon and only nodded again.
"... I see." The dragon said, closing its eyes. "Your son's life was in danger to the sickness, and in order to save him, you have gone to great lengths to acquire my lacrima." The dragon exclaimed. Causing the hooded man and all the bandits to be left dumbstruck as the beast seemed to have greatly misunderstood the actual events. As everyone's mind was left trying to figure out how he could come to that conclusion, the dragon just nodded it's head approvingly at the hooded man, its eyes still closed. "Admirable, very admirable. Very well! I shall grant you this boon. I can smell the traces of Magic around the child. He has high affinity to my element, and I will further ensure that the lacrima is absorbed properly!
"Do it, human! Place the lacrima in your son's body! I shall make sure it succeeds." The dragon declared. The hooded man not believing his luck, simply did as he was told and inserted the lacrima into his son. A golden light enveloped the boy and the dragon had a look of concentration as he merged the lacrima with the child's Magic Power. After a few minutes, the merging was completed without a hitch. However, the dragon had fully seen the child's body from head to toe and it's face morphed into unsatisfaction.
"Human... This child is weak." The dragon growled out in anger. Whether at the boy being weak or at the hooded man for raising him weak, no one knew. The hooded man simply nodded, agreeing with the dragon's opinion. The boy was weak, just like his mother.
"I will train him." The dragon unexpectedly declared.
The winds stopped. The flashes of lightning disappeared. The bandits froze. The whole world seemed to have gone completely still once again as the dragon had, again, said something unbelievable.
The dragon ignored it all, as it focused its vision instead on the boy. He gently took him in his arms and cradled him with great care, making sure that he did not wake.
The hooded man wanted to protest. He didn't know how long it will be until the brat finishes his training or if he'll even get him back after all. But just as he opened his mouth to yell out his protest, a hand clamped down on his mouth, stopping the words from coming out. He looked to the side and saw the owner of the hand being the same bandit next to him, vigorously shaking his head as if to say: 'no'.
The hooded man didn't care though and kept trying to free himself from the bandits' grasp. The other bandits getting an idea of what their comrade was doing, jumped the hooded man and they all crashed to the ground in a heap, keeping the hooded man from saying anything that would stop the dragon from misunderstanding the situation and resume on ending their lives.
The dragon didn't take notice of the squabble and only kept focusing on the child in his arms. "There may be hope for my plans yet." He whispered quietly to no one in particular.
He looked back up at the humans and curiously found them in a pile on top of each other. He raised a brow but otherwise paid them no heed. He has what he came for, and it was time he departed. He unfurled his great wings and prepared to take his leave. He paused, just to leave the humans with some parting words. "I shall return this child back to you in ten years time. When the time comes, return to this forest, and you shall see your son once again. With this, I shall leave you in peace."
With that, the dragon jumped into the air. His great wings flapped against the wind as he was ascending up to the sky. The dragon roared with the sound of thunder, and the storm clouds flashed with lightning in response. The clouds then parted, like great gates opening in the sky to welcome the return of their King, then closed as he passed them by.
As the dragon left, the storm started to disperse. The peaceful normality of an evening forest slowly returned to the clearing. The bandits felt like they were waking up from a dream, realizing they had just seen a legendary beast and escaped will all their limbs intact, though they might have lost a year or two in fear. Give or take.
"Ge- -ff me!" The hooded man yelled through the hands obstructing his mouth. He struggled against the weight on top of him, and the bandits promptly got off of their client. During the scuffle, the man's hood fell off and revealed a man with black hair and tanned skin. He sported a unique-looking beard; a chin curtain, with several lines of facial hair around his mouth shooting upwards in an odd pattern. Now that the bandits had a good look at him, he was quite tall and well muscular under his cloak.
"How dare you!" The man growled, making most of the bandits flinched at the primal voice of the man.
The first bandit, however, didn't even waver and stood his ground. "If we didn't give it the kid, the dragon would have killed us all." He pointed out. "We were lucky he misunderstood what you wanted to do! We barely escaped with our lives!"
"And what about the brat huh? I paid you millions of jewels!" The man retorted.
The bandit, however, was unfazed and shrugged. "You got what you wanted. We gave you the lacrima just as the boss promised. Whatever happened after that was not our concern. Besides, with this, wouldn't you get more than what you want? A lacrima that was personally trained by a dragon would be worth an entire country!"
The man gnashed his teeth, unable to come up with any retort. Seeing this, the lead bandit signaled his men to leave. The man could do nothing but silently glare as the bandits gathered themselves, each holding onto several sacks of jewel and promptly left the clearing, not even leaving a trace of their existence.
"DAAAAAAAMMMMNNNN ITTTTT!" The man suddenly yelled and threw a massive amount of paper dolls at a random location. The ground exploded, sending rock and dirt flying while, releasing a powerful wave of dark energy that left a small crater on the ground.
The man was left breathless, more so from the yelling than getting tired. Though he soon got his breathing back under control before he cursed again and sighed quietly. He had no Jewels, and now, no lacrima enhanced brat to show for it.
Ivan Dreyar was not looking forward to going back to town.
- Fairy Tail Guild Hall -
Makarov Dreyar was the Third Guild Master of Fairy Tail. He had lived his life going through many, many adventures, seen many different lands, met with the other races and even had fallen in love. He had a vast wealth of experience under his belt, and because of that, he knew which 'signs' to look out for. Signs that screamed 'trouble is coming', signs that just meant something horrible was going to happen.
And yet, Makarov had been waiting for the other shoe to drop. In fact, he had been waiting for it to drop the entire day.
Fairy Tail had, if you could believe it, a slow day. Nothing had happened. There were no enormous and chaotic brawls, nor was there any explosion or things smashed to bits, no bills asking him to pay for damages(for today at least), and he didn't have to deal with anyone from the Council or the local Custody Enforcement Unit. Other than the freak thunderstorm that came out of nowhere, it was a quiet day, and it was about to end.
Gildarts, the Ace of Fairy Tail, was there earlier in the day. Makarov had shared his unease with him, but Gildarts just called him paranoid, chalking it up to his age catching up to him before leaving for an upper A-Class mission. He had grumbled all the way until evening, but now he thought that, perhaps, Gildarts was right. Perhaps his senses just weren't as sharp as they used to be.
In any case, he was still the Guild Master and had to call the end of the day.
"Alright everyone, it's almost closing time!" Makarov yelled from his spot on the bar counter. "And that means you should get your last refill of Mead before we all go home!" Cheers of affirmative yelled across the wooden guild hall. However, just before the first person could get a new mug of Mead, the guild doors slammed open, accompanied by the loud boom of thunder from the storm outside. Every person in the guild turned their heads to the doors, wondering who just entered and what just happened.
A woman with golden blonde hair burst through the doors. She looked like she had run to the guild with all her might, as she was panting heavily and was leaning on the door as she knelt down on the ground from exhaustion. She was wearing a white nightgown that hugged her hourglass figure with a blue bed jacket that matched her eyes. Makarov's eyes widened as he recognized the beautiful woman that had just entered the Guild and instantly knew the other shoe had finally dropped and had led to this.
"Ma-Makarov..." The woman stuttered between pants, the distress very evident in her voice.
"Marianne?" Makarov asked. Faster than anyone thought possible for the diminutive Guild Master, he moved next to the woman's side almost instantly. "What's wrong? What happened? Are you alright?"
Before he could take hold of her hands to calm his daughter-in-law down, she grabbed hold of his clothes with a strong grip he didn't think possible for the normally demure woman.
"I-its Laxus!" She cried, tears starting to spill from her eyes. "He's gone!"
Makarov paled. He felt like his heart had skipped a beat and that his years had caught up with him. But then he grabbed hold of his years of experience and schooled his features. He used a little bit of his Giant Magic, stretching his arms onto Marianne's shoulders and gripped her reassuringly.
"Tell me what happened." He cajoled, almost like an order. His daughter-in-law then told him how she had woken up with a bad feeling and went to check on Laxus, only to find him gone from his bed. After she had checked the whole house, she came running to the guild despite her declining health.
"Maybe the kid just went out for a walk." A voice pipped in from the side. Makarov glanced around and realized that everyone still in the Guild had gathered around them.
"No! Laxus wouldn't do that! It's not like him to just up and leave in the middle of the night!" Marianne cried, her voice filled with desperation.
Makarov could see the Fairies look at each other with doubt in their eyes. He could tell they were worried about Laxus, but they had so little to go on on what actually happened, it was natural for them to hesitate to help. But he was already convinced and believed in his daughter-in-law...
"She's right. It's out of my grandson's character to just slip out in the middle of the night." Makarov stated, his tone making the decision for the guild. He then noticed that someone had been forgotten in the entire exchange and asked her: "Marianne, where's Ivan?"
"I don't know." She said, shaking her head. "He was home earlier when I had put Laxus to sleep, but there was no sign of him when I woke up."
Makarov nodded, unsurprised that his son wasn't given much thought by his own wife. Ivan was far from the ideal man, and even further as a decent husband. The only reason why Marianne and Ivan had gotten and stayed together, was because of Laxus.
He helped Marianne up from the floor and guided her to a nearby table to sit down, the Guild members giving way to them. He pulled the chair for his daughter-in-law and made her sit, while he called for one of the Guild's employee to get Marianne some tea to calm her down.
Makarov then beckoned for one of his Guild members, a young man in his twenties with slicked back dark-blue hair and with a jaw growing a significant amount of stubble and a thin mustache. "Macao. Go upstairs to the third floor and ring the Guild bell once." He ordered.
"R-Right." Macao stuttered, before running up the stairs to follow his masters' orders. Ringing the bell once was a call to any willing member to the Guildhall at once. However, this was basically announcing to the whole of Magnolia that something important had come up and it wasn't a particularly good idea to announce that the most troublesome Guild was having trouble themselves.
"Marianne," Makarov called, looking towards his daughter-in-law. "I have to prepare for calling everyone here, so I need to leave you alone for the time being. Will you be alright?"
Marianne nodded. "Yes. Thank you... Father. And... I'm sorry." She mumbled, glancing down to her hands. Makarov could tell she felt vexed with herself due to her fragility. Before Marianne could berating herself further, he took her hands together in his. She looked up at him and he gave her the softest smile he could manage. "Do not blame yourself, Marianne. You've done all you can in your position."
She stared at him for a moment before she nodded her head. "... Alright. Thank you, Father."
Makarov, however, knew she wasn't convinced and was still blaming herself not with just tonight's events, but with years worth of frailty. Marianne's health wasn't the best. In fact, her giving birth to Laxus was a miracle in of itself. He didn't know the details about her home life, but he could easily picture Marianne being forced to stay in bed most of the time due to her own weak body. All the while, Laxus is left doing most of the chores and even cooking food for her. Any parent would hate themselves for not being able to do anything for their children other than being a burden.
He could only sigh and nod to his daughter-in-law as he turned around and went up to his office. He'll try and help Marianne's home life at a later time, but right now, he needed to help her find her son, and he'll have to prepare and ask the Guild to help with that.
The bell on top of Fairy Tail rang out once. A Magic Tool in its own, it tolled loud and clear in the whole Magnolia, echoing in the ears of many Fairy Tail Mage be they awake or deep in slumber. They did not have to think about it, not even a second of thought was put into consideration. They all got up and headed out. The bell rang out, that meant their family needed them. There was no if's, and's, or but's about it.
In twenty minutes, the Guildhall was as full as if it was the middle of the day. The key difference, however, was that they were chatting and talking nervously to one another.
"Hey, what's happening? Why was the bell rung?" One of the Fairies asked as he joined a nearby table. The Guild bells were ever only rung when something important had happened.
"I don't know, I just got here myself. I was having a really nice dream too." Another answered, looking only half awake.
"Hey, keep your voices down." Macao hissed, joining their table. "Now's not the time to be so lackadaisical. The Master is really pissed!"
"Then do you know what's going on Macao?" The newly arrived Fairy asked.
"Yeah, I do and were probably not gonna get any sleep tonight." Macao asserted.
"Then what the heck happened?" A female Fairy demanded from another table, as she was leaning back on her chair towards them.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you lot," Macao said. He looked around and noticed he now had an audience as the other nearby tables were also paying attention to him. "Laxus has gone missing." He told them plainly.
"The Master's grandson? What do you mean missing?" A different table asked.
"Just that. The kid is gone." Macao stated, before gesturing towards the corner, where a blonde-haired woman was dejectedly looking down on her cup of tea that had long ago gone cold. "Marianne woke up earlier due to the storm. She went to check on Laxus, but he wasn't anywhere in the house."
"Couldn't the kid have just gone out on his own?" The sleepy Fairy asked. "Don't kids do that all the time?"
"That's what some of us thought too, but the Master says Laxus wasn't the type to sneak out and worry his mom like that." Macao assured.
"It's true." A new female Fairy spoke as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to Macao. She had shoulder-length dark purple hair and violet eyes. She was of average height with tanned skin, large breasts, and a curvaceous figure. Currently, she was wearing a revealing orange bikini top and a matching orange skirt, giving her the appearance of a Dancer.
"E-Enno?" Macao stuttered with a slight blushed at the new arrival.
"I mean it's not like Laxus to just up and leave. We've all seen him running around here all the time right?" Enno queried and saw the people around her nodding their heads. Fairy Tail was a tightly knit group. It was impossible for them to not know the Guild Master and his family. "Then you know just how close he is to the Master. So if he says he wouldn't, then he really wouldn't."
"Come to think of it, the Master asked me to help out in their house a few times." The first female Fairy recalled. "From what I've seen, Laxus takes good care of Marianne, and a kid like that wouldn't make his mom worry by just going out for the night."
"Then could he have been kidnapped?" A different table piped in.
"You idiot, don't let Marianne hear you!" Macao hissed at them.
"S-sorry." The new Fairy stammered in a quieter tone. "But if he didn't leave on his own, then doesn't that mean some took him?"
"Who would even be crazy enough to take the Fairy Tail's Guild Master's grandson?" Macao wondered.
"Maybe Ivan?" The sleepy Fairy suggested.
"... What?" The Fairy asked with his brows raised, as he noticed all eyes had gone to him.
"N-no, it's just that, Ivan is the Master's son right? So could he really just kidnap his own kid?" Macao explained, but it sounded weak even to him as he kept thinking about it.
"... Couldn't he?" The female Fairy pondered.
No one answered. They started to look around for their suspected culprit, only to find him absent. The forlorn Marianne sitting alone in the corner only seemed to reinforce the idea in their heads that Ivan had taken Laxus to gods-know-where and did something to him.
The Fairies weren't fond of Ivan in the first place, only dealing with him because he was their Master's son, but even Makarov had a hard time dealing with his son. Because of that, they could all easily picture Ivan being the culprit.
"That bastard..." Enno snarled quietly and gaining everyone's attention. She was glaring down on the table as if Ivan's face would pop out of it any moment. "If he really did something to Laxus, I'll beat him up to hell and back."
No one said anything, but they all nodded, agreeing with Enno wholeheartedly. Especially after knowing that not only is Laxus really close to the Guild Master, he was also a good kid that took care of his mom despite his young age. No one said anymore, but they all swore in their hearts that they would make Ivan pay if he did something to an innocent kid like that.
If only they knew they were already too late.
Tables further away from the conversation of Macao, Enno, and the others got curious and began asking what they had talked about. Soon, the whole topic had gotten passed around to the entire hall. All the Fairies ended up with the same conclusion as Enno, and they were now burning with the same overprotective urge to find and save Laxus.
In a few more minutes, a door opened on the second floor. Immediately, the whole hall fell into silence, and they all looked up, expecting to see their Guild Master. Except this time, he wasn't the Makarov Dreyar they usually see, the one with a full smile on his face and a goofy and fun presence. No, this Makarov wasn't that. In fact, they weren't sure if it was the same person at all, as the Makarov Dreyar in front of them moved to stand next to the railings, easily reaching 190 cm tall, was as robust as any muscular man, and wearing the full regalia of a Wizard Saint. He had a serious look on his face with steel underneath his gaze while his whole presence exuded an air of authority around him. There was no arguing with this man, when he gave an order, you followed it. Period.
"I'll keep this brief as I'm sure word has gotten around by now." He told them, his voice controlled and steady. "Laxus, my grandson, has gone missing. The who or why is not known, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that we don't know where he is, and that is the reason why I have called you here now.
"You should all know that this matter is not directly related to the Guild, as such this is not an order. You have no obligation to hear my request and can simply turn around and go back to sleep. There will be no repercussions whatsoever. Those who do not wish to get involved, leave now."
"Screw that!" Enno snapped, the chair she sat on falling down in a clatter as she suddenly stood up. "Not only is he your grandson Master, but Laxus has been coming to the Guild almost every day and even wants to join Fairy Tail when he grows up! To me, he's as good as one of our own!"
"Yeah, that's right! He's one of us!" Macao agreed, standing up himself.
"And Fairy Tail sticks together!" Another Fairy joined in.
"No one messes with our family!"
"We'll tear apart Magnolia to look for him if we have too!"
Cheers of affirmation and agreement rang throughout the hall. Makarov looked down on his people with pride his eyes, though his face didn't show it. Right now, they still had a job to do.
"Very good!" He told them, before using Requip and taking out a Lacrima-Vision from his spatial storage. He poured his Magic into the device and a large see-through map of Magnolia was suddenly displayed in the air in front of the Guild. "You will be divided into teams. I will give you an area, and I want you to comb through it thoroughly. If you find Laxus, your priority is to get him to safety. If you think you can't do that without causing a fight, send word back immediately. If the situation is dire, send up a signal flare into the sky, and we will converge to your location. Is that understood?"
" " " Yes, Guild Master! " " " The whole Guild answered.
For the next half hour, Fairy Tail had been sending out search parties of three or four into Magnolia, trying to find a single clue to Ivan or Laxus whereabouts. Despite Fairy Tail's usual displeasure when dealing with them, The local Rune Knights and Custody Enforcement Unit were also notified of the search. They sent word back that they couldn't actively help out in the search due to a lack of manpower, but they would keep their eyes and ears open, especially on the town's entry and exit points.
Once the entire Guild had been sent out, and the Guildhall was silent, Makarov finally let out a sigh of exhaustion and released the steel like persona he had assumed. He looked towards the corner and spotted Marianne, still in her seat with the same cup of tea in her hands. He walked down from the second floor and approached her table before he gently placed a hand on her shoulders. "Marianne, I think it's time for you to get some rest. Come, I'll walk you home." He told her quietly.
She looked up at him then, her weary eyes meeting his. "No... I'll, I'll help too! He's my son and-"
Makarov stopped her by waving his free hand. "You've done your part. Let us do the rest. Besides, someone needs to wait in your house, just in case either Laxus or Ivan come back, right?"
Reluctantly, Marianne looked down to the floor but nodded her head all the same. Makarov let out another sigh, before offering his daughter-in-law his hand, helping her up from her seat, and escorting her home. He walked her all the way to her porch and watched as she entered her house in the dead of the night. Once he was satisfied, Makarov turned around left the quiet residential district. He was heading for a bar he knew Ivan visited, in fact, a whole list of places was in his mind, and he was going to have to go to them one by one.
Unknown to Makarov, Marianne did not go up to her bed to sleep out the rest of the night. In fact, she found it impossible to even be able to get any sleep tonight. She was too vexed at herself. She was too sick, too frail... She wished, not for the first time, that she just had a little more power, just enough so that she was normal.
She wiped her eyes, catching the tears before they spilled out. Then she went to her living room, grabbed a picture of her and Laxus smiling happily at the camera, before sitting down on their sofa and longingly looking at the picture.
And then she waited.
- Magnolia -
Ivan Dreyar was a very skilled Mage and an even craftier person, but for all his talent and cunning, he was starting to think his luck was just terrible.
First, he had a father that was just some goody-two-shoes-chan. Second, his mom-chan died. Third, his favorite hobby was 'illegal'. Fourth, he had to get that slut-chan, Marianne, pregnant and he was forced to marry her. And fifth? The damn brat was gone! Along with his hard-earned jewels! Oh, sure the damned dragon-chan said he'll bring the brat back, but who knows if that beast wouldn't just decide to eat the brat, just cause he got hungry?
All in all, everything was just terrible!
Despite that and his bleak attitude to the current events, he still had enough presence of mind to make himself invisible and disguise the sound of his footsteps. There were guards at the entrance of Magnolia, but there was no way they could have discovered him entering. Heck, they didn't even find out when he was dragging a cart around, much less, now that he was empty handed.
His Illusion Magic was something he kept to himself. No need to tell anyone just how good he was at it. He was even good enough to fool his dad, and he has a Wizard Saint status!
He left the idiotic guards behind, not paying attention to them as they seemed to be discussing something important. He was too busy having an 'investors-remorse'. So busy in fact, that he did not notice the night was oddly busy, with people running around at every other corner and Magi jumping from roof to roof.
He headed to a nearby bar, wanting to just get smashed. It was one of those bars that wouldn't tell their customer's wife if they had seen her husband, despite just seeing him enter their establishment with two young girls in his arms just a few seconds ago. And that was just the kind of bar Ivan liked... Well, not like they ever had a reason to lie for him. Slut-chan never looked for him in the first place.
Ivan took off his illusion before he entered the building, and immediately went to the wooden bar counter, sat down, and waved a bartender over. "Give me a Cockatrail." He ordered.
The bartender raised a brow. A Cockatrail was a very, very strong cocktail, fermented even further by using a few drops of blood from a cockatrice. As a result, they tend to be expensive. In the end, though, the bartender just shrugged and prepared his drink.
As the bartender worked his magic(not real Magic) with the bottles. Then he paused for the briefest of seconds before he continued preparing his drink and looked Ivan in the eye. "By the way Mr. Dreyar, your father came by earlier. He was looking for you apparently."
Ivan grunted. It was the bar's policy to inform their clients if someone was looking for them. However, he didn't care what the old man wanted right now. Ivan simply just waved the bartender to get on with the drinks.
Having done his duty, the bartender just shrugged and finished mixing the shot before he slid it in front of Ivan. "That'll be 600 Jewels." The bartender said. Ivan reached into his pocket and threw a small pouch filled with Jewels at the bartender, who fumbled with catching it and stupidly gaping his eyes as he saw the amount inside.
"Keep them coming," Ivan said, before taking the shot. It went down like fire, burning his whole throat. "Gods, I needed that," he said quietly. Not long after, the bartender slid him a couple more shots of Cockatrails.
- Dreyar Residence -
The sun was peeking over the horizon, and Marianne was still sitting in the same spot. No one had come to check on her, or to tell her they had found her son, so she guessed there were no signs of him.
Tears of worry and fear started to spill from her eyes, dripping down to the picture in her lap. 'If only I weren't so sick... if only I weren't born with this body.' She berated herself. She didn't want power or anything like that. She just wanted a normal, healthy body so she could do more for her precious son. If she had a normal body, she could be out there, searching for her son instead of painfully having to wait, not knowing where he could have gone.
PAT, PAT, PAT
Marianne turned her head to the door. There was a sound of footsteps, then a rustling of clothes, before there was the sound of a small metal grinding against the doorknob. It wasn't until an audible click resounded in the house until she figured out someone was opening her door.
She quickly got up, still clutching the picture in her hand and hoping her son was home.
To her dismay, however, instead of seeing a small figure with a tuft of spiky blonde hair, she saw a tall figure with hair as black as night and the tan skin of her 'dear husband', Ivan Dreyar. He was stumbling around as he hiccuped, and each of his steps was off balanced. It was undeniable that he was drunker than any sailor as he fell to his knees just a few steps beyond the door, not even being able to close it behind him.
Marianne sighed, her hopes dying in her heart. Still, she moved to her husband's side and grabbed his arm, intending to help him up and drag him, at the very least, to the sofa. But as she looked down, there, on his arm, she saw a single strand of blonde hair. It wasn't long like that of a woman, or silky like that of a young girl. It was short and straight, just like that of a boy's, just like that of her son's.
"Ivan... Where's Laxus?" She probed out immediately.
She was expecting him to deny knowing where he was, or to ask her rhetorically "Isn't he upstairs?" Instead, however, he did the most unexpected thing to that question.
He laughed.
"Hihihi, hahah- HIC hihihi. Laxus? HIC The brat?" Ivan giggled from the floor, before somehow finding strength in his legs. He stood up and towered over Marianne, making her step back from his maniac grin. "You want to know where the brat is? Do you? HIC Well, do you slut-chan?"
Marianne gulped. She was afraid of this man. Always had been. That's why she couldn't resist him when he raped her. Why she just let it happen. Too scared of getting hurt when she was already so weak.
But then, her hand was gripping something, and she remembered the picture she had been staring at all night. Remembered the smile of her son. "... Yes. I want to know. Please, tell me where Laxus is." She said quietly, but with every scrap of bravery she could muster.
"Hihihi, the brat, HIC hey listen to this slut-chan! Hihihihihi! The brat got taken by a dragon!" Ivan giggled hysterically.
"What?!" Marianne screamed out. "Ivan, did you just say a dragon took our son?" In her horror and worry, she did not notice she grabbed Ivan's arm and was gripping it with all she could.
Ivan's mind glared where slut-chan was gripping him, it didn't like the image and was sending signals to his arm to shake her off, but it was like the arm itself had fallen asleep. His mouth, however, moved, grinned, and answered on its own. "Yeah. A dragon took the brat. It was all happy too. HIC Didn't even look at me twice after he got his grubby claws on Laxus-chan."
"And you just let him take our son away?!" She screamed, horrified at her baby boy being taken by a legendary beast.
"Oh no, dragon-chan said he'll bring him back. In ten years. HIC Hihihi, but by then I'll take the lacrima back." Ivan answered, still not able to get control of his mouth.
"W-what do you mean? What lacrima? What are you talking about?" Marianne questioned, not following where the lacrima had come from.
"Oh, the dragon lacrima I put in him! I plan to get it back one day. Hihihi, and listen slut-chan, after I get the lacrima back, I'll be rich! HIC Rich enough to buy a country!"
"What about Laxus? You said the dragon will bring him back, right?" Marianne persisted, needing to know if her son was alright.
"When the dragon comes back, Laxus-chan wouldn't matter!" Ivan's mouth smiled evilly. "I'll take the lacrima back, and he'll be dead!"
SLAP!
Marianne had snapped at those words, and her hand instinctively slapped the man in front of her across his jaw. "YOU SCUMBAG!" She screamed, anger fueling her actions. "How could you even think of doing that to your son! To MY baby boy?!" As she said those words, however, Marianne's rage began to settle, and she realized her mistake. But it was already too late.
Ivan's mind seemed to wake from that slap, gaining full control of its own body once again and glared at the woman in front of him. "You bitch!" He snarled, before pushing her body down.
To Marianne, this scene was familiar. She screamed as she was sent sprawling to the floor and Ivan's body came looming over her smaller frame. It reminded her of when he raped her... The first time. This time though, she was going to struggle. The man in front of her, the man that had planned to hurt her son, him alone she would not surrender her body too. She struggled with all her might as Ivan ripped off her nightgown and groped her body lewdly. She kept slapping him across his face and torso, trying to make him stop but that just made him grab her hand and hold them above her head. With his massive frame, he overpowered her, easily bruising her thin wrist from his grip alone. She then started to kick and scream, and her leg managed to kick him in the gut, and Ivan let out a grunt of pain as he clenched his stomach.
"You fucker! You filthy whore!" He yelled before his hands closed around her thin neck.
Marianne's eyes widened as Ivan had gone over the edge. She started to gasp as the air was cut off from her lungs. With Ivan's strength, he wasn't able to just choke her. He was able to do much more. Her vision started to black out. She frantically looked around, trying to look for an escape or something but saw nothing in reach... Except for the picture frame she had dropped when he had pushed her down. She tried to grab it, extending her arm as far out as she could while she lost the air in her lungs. As she grabbed the picture, Ivan noticed what she was trying to do and smirked evilly. "Do you really think that will save you, slut-chan?"
'No.' She answered in her mind as tears started to drip from her eyes unendingly. She has no hope to escape from Ivan's grip, no strength left to even resist. She turned her head to the picture, knowing full well that she was going to die. She only wanted to see her son, her most precious thing in the world... smile at her one last time.
"La... xus..."
SNAP
Makarov sighed as he walked along the residential houses of Magnolia. He was heading to Marianne's home, just to tell her that no one had seen hide or tail of Laxus, or of Ivan for that matter. He had combed through every bar, every club, and every establishment that Ivan frequented and could frequent.
Before he could turn the last corner, he heard a scuffle ensuing, and that same feeling of something terrible was about to happen crept up his spine. He wasted no time and started dashing with all his might, heading for Marianne's house. He saw the door was wide open and a tall body of a man was looming over his daughter-in-law's small frame. He wasted no time and charged in, preparing to use his Giant Magic to tac-
SNAP
Makarov roared and used his Giant Magic to transform his whole body to a bulldozer, sending the man flying through the house, creating man-sized holes all the way into the backyard with one mighty hit.
Makarov landed on his knees from his attack and looked down to check on Marianne but immediately gasped. "Gods, no. Please, please, no. Not again." He whispered as he turned back to his regular dwarf size.
Her clothing was ripped apart, leaving her body bare to be seen by all the world. There were bruises over her body, evidence of where the man had grasped her. He picked up her injured wrist and felt for a pulse.
"No. Please. Not like this. Please, not like this." Makarov begged, tears almost spilling from his eyes.
There was no pulse.
He moved to her head and tried to ignore the way her neck was bent unnaturally and placed a hand over her mouth.
She wasn't breathing.
"No!" He gasped. "No no no no no no." He kept repeating the words as tears spilled out from his eyes. He placed a hand over her heart, praying to all the gods above for it to beat against his palm.
But there was nothing.
Marianne Dreyar was dead.
Makarov fell to his knees. He had lost another family member, and this time, right in front of him. He wanted to break down and grieve, but he steeled himself as best he could. There were things he still had to do. He took off his cloak and stretched it with Magic to cover Marianne's entire body, meaning to give her some dignity at the very least. As he moved, he noticed her eyes were looking towards the picture frame in her hands. Of her and Laxus spending the day happily together.
Unbridled and unrestrained rage spread to every inch of his body. How could someone hurt a woman as gentle as Marianne? Whose sole wish was to only live out her days with her son with a smile?
Makarov glared at where he had sent the man flying to the backyard of the house. Every single ounce of hatred his heart could produce was made just for this man. He stalked over to the man, each breath was ragged due to the intense wrath he felt for the murderer of his daughter.
The man was crumpled in the dirt, his body having left a small trench in his flight from the house. The man lifted his head to look at Makarov, revealing a very familiar tuft of black hair to him. "Papa-chan, that hurt! How cou-" The man was about to say something, but Makarov did not care to listen. He sent his Magic to his hand, and a giant fist came crashing down on the man's stomach like a small meteor. The man spat out blood as his body was buried further into the ground, his limbs forming a 'U' shape, with blood sprouting from his mouth.
But he was still alive. Makarov held back just enough for that.
He then sent a magical flare up the sky, before he turned back around to the house and tended to his daughter's body.
Soon, a team of Fairy Tail members arrived at the house consisting of Macao, Enno, and two others. They entered the house and gasped, immediately seeing their Master kneeling down next to a body that was being covered by his cape. His face was shadowed, but they could tell their Guild Master was mourning.
"G-Guild Master?" Macao ventured quietly, afraid to break the silence that seemed to have fallen on the house.
"Follow the holes in the wall to the backyard. Restrain the man lying there. Make sure he doesn't escape." Makarov told them, his voice barely above a whisper. "Then one of you contact the CEU. Have them bring a squad over and arrest the murdering bastard."
The team gulped and nodded. They had a feeling of who was under the cape, but they wanted to deny it for as long as possible. They sent the fastest one among them to run to the local Rune Knights, before the rest went to check on the murderer their Guild Master had sent flying, judging from the holes in the wall. As they approached the murder, they all let out a gasp as they realized who it was.
"No!" Enno gasped as she saw who the murderer was. Tears started formed in her eyes as all doubt was erased as to who the body inside the house belonged to. Macao wrapped his arms around her and she began to cry into his chest.
"I-Isn't this..." The other Fairy stammered.
"... yeah..." Macao confirmed solemnly.
Silence fell on the team as they realized who was under the cloak. A plethora of emotion ran through the team. Anger, despair, loss, but most of all, uncertainty. Uncertainty on how this would affect the Guild, on how Magnolia would look at them now that one of their own was a murderer, on how their Master will act from losing another of family. Not really knowing what else to say, Macao gestured for the other Fairy to complete their task. He nodded, then used his Magic to bind the murderer and made sure that the bastard couldn't move a muscle without it hurting him like hell.
Enno then asked Macao to take her inside. Macao meanwhile told the other Fairy to stay alert and not let the murderer escape, before doing as Enno requested. As they arrived in the room, they found their Master had not moved from his spot. Enno joined him and grieved quietly, with Macao returning to the backyard and joining the other Fairy in guarding the culprit.
After some time, more Fairies arrived. Some mourned and grieved just like their Master. Most knew of Marianne, as she had been employed as an employee in Fairy Tail for a short time... Before she caught the eye of Ivan. The others move to join Macao, silently glaring at the murderer. In all of this, a cloud of gloom was being exuded by the usually boisterous Guild and surrounded the house.
The CEU arrived soon after to the Dreyar house. Even from the outside, they could tell that something had gone very, very wrong inside. Their typically antagonistic attitude to Fairy Tail was reigned in as they passed through the house's entrance. They walked in as demure as each Fairy Tail member that they saw gathered around a body and quietly went to the backyard. The Fairies gave way to the Knights and silently watched as they arrested the man, condemning him with their eyes. As the knights carried him, the man stirred awake and tried to resist, but the Restraining Magic casted by the Fairies prevented him from doing anything more than just putting up a useless struggle while he screamed profanities at the knights to let him go.
Having no way around the house, however, the CEU knights had no choice but to pass through Makarov and the grieving Fairy Tail members. Hoping they could get through quietly, they manned up and marched through. Just as they were making their way through, Makarov said: "Wait."
The knights stopped in their tracks, while the man turned his head towards Makarov with a smile of hope. "Papa-chan, I knew you wouldn't just-"
"Where's my grandson?" He asked the man with a threatening tone.
The man faltered a little. But then, he smiled even more wickedly. "A dragon took him." He told them before he started giggling to himself.
"What?!"
"You're lying!"
"Stop making up such nonsense, you monster!"
The Fairies shouted at the man, but Makarov silenced them with a wave of his hand. "Is what you said true?" He asked.
"Yep! Every word. A dragon came down with a flash of lightning, looked at Laxus-chan, before taking him away. Hihihi, isn't that hilarious?!" The man giggled, laughing his head off at a punchline that seemed to only anger the other Fairies.
Makarov however, just nodded to the Rune Knights, and they dragged the man away, all the while the murderer known as Ivan Dreyar laughed his head off.
Today, in the town of Magnolia, there was not a cloud in the sky due to the sudden storm last night having taken all the clouds with it. The sun shone unerringly down on the land as if there was nothing wrong with the world at all. In spite of this, the town seemed to have been covered by a dark, black cloud and at its source... Was the Guild called Fairy Tail...
End of Chapter
A/N: And that's the first chapter! Tell me what you guys think. Love it? Hate it? Yay? Nay? Please comment and let me know! I've already planned how the story will go around X784(The Canon start of the Manga), and how I would like to end the story as well as the character's relationship with one another, but everything else in-between? Well, I'd have to go through quite a number of chapters before I get there so we'll see!
As for the next update, maybe next week? It's mostly written down. The problem is I'm not liking the pacing/world-building. I feel like I put too much in that it now feels like a Filler Chapter, and thats not a good thing to write so early in the story. Hopefully, I manage to cut out the parts I feel like is useless and get on to the next scenes.
Anyway, if you want to help me out with the story by cutting out whatever is useless (basically being a Beta), drop me a PM!
See ya guys soon!