"Are you sure we should be doin' this?" Bickslow asked as he followed his leader into the gaping door hole of Laxus' old house. His babies had been left at home to rest for the night.

"Not entirely. But when Miss Ava was here, she saw something that caused her to do nothing than want to leave. And while I doubt there's anything actually living in this place now, it's best to have at least some backup just in case," Freed explained as he lead his teammate down the hallway and into the kitchen. Bickslow covered his mouth.

"Gosh! What's that smell?!"

"My guess would be a dinner left to rot for at least seven years," Freed said as he turned towards the basement door. He could see the edge of the ring of light at the base and gripped the hilt of his sword. "Looks like whatever Miss Ava saw is in the basement."

"I'm right behind ya, man," Bickslow said as Freed began to descend the stairs.

"Tread cautiously. It would appear that the stairs are rotting away," Freed warned as he stepped off the last stair and picked up the flashlight Ava had dropped.

"Roger," Bickslow replied as he descended and stood next to his leader. Freed began turning the flashlight over the room, seeing the same sight Ava had seen earlier.

"What is this? Some kind of laboratory?" Freed muttered as he moved further into the room, catching sight of the entrance to another room off to the side. He peered inside and his eyes widened at the sight. Spread over at least a dozen tables were trays of smaller lacrima than the ones in the other room, syringes, scalpels, dozens of silver trays full of…

…Bones.

The trays were stacked atop each other but it was painfully obvious that something else had been the victims of these experiments. He could make out the smaller skeletons on mice and rats, but the further back in the room he went, the bigger the bones became.

"Heavens…" Freed breathed as he peered into one of the last trays, only to jump back upon realizing he was looking at a skeletal human hand, the bones of the middle finger having been engorged to an almost unrecognizable size from the lacrima crystal glittering in a crack along the bone.

"This is a new kind of creepy," Bickslow said as he stepped into the room.

"Indeed. From how it appears, a member of Laxus' family was performing lacrima-based experiments on everything from rats to humans," Freed said, gesturing to the bones in the tray before him.

"Well…I don't sense any souls in here. So there wasn't anyone murdered here for it. Likely the one responsible either got this crap from a hospital where amputations are frequent or grabbed them off already dead bodies that had been donated to science."

"Well…that's somewhat of a relief…But then…"

"Looks like the table over there was rigged up for a really small kid. No spirits over there so whoever they are, they're still alive," Bickslow said.

"So that means that this is likely where Laxus' father implanted the lacrima in him, wouldn't you agree?" Freed asked, backing away from the grotesque scene before him and heading back to his teammate.

"I think so." Freed directed the light up at the ceiling, which was bare, revealing the pipework of the kitchen.

"I think I've seen enough," Freed said as he turned and headed up the stairs, Bickslow quick to follow. The taller man shut the door to the basement, only to have the massive thing fall off its hinges and make several loud noises as it tumbled down the stairs, breaking some as it went.

"Oops."

"Well done Bickslow," Freed said flatly before the two left the house.

Ava leaned back a little in her seat, turning a communication lacrima between her hands.

"You gonna use that thing?" Sylvia asked as she appeared and sat down next to her sister on Freed's couch.

"I don't know," Ava sighed as she set the crystal down in her lap. "I'm almost afraid to. What if he realizes it's me and breaks his own lacrima, if he's even carrying one? What if I call and it turns out he's…" Ava bit her top lip and heaved another sigh before setting the lacrima down on the floor and leaning back in her seat.

"You would've known if he was dead," Sylvia assured. "And most dragons mate for life to one." Ava shot a look at her sister before the two began to giggle. The two stopped when the sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the house.

"Welcome home Freed," Ava called as Freed stepped by the living room door, causing the mage to jump in surprise.

"My lady, I would've thought you'd be asleep by now. With it being so late and you having traveled so far."

"I couldn't sleep I'm afraid. Don't worry, by tomorrow night, I'll be tired enough to sleep. Although, you do bring up a good question Freed. You're out very late yourself and the way you're sneaking around your own home is almost reminiscent of a teenager caught out after curfew." Sylvia giggled as Freed's mouth opened and closed like a fish on a riverbank as he searched for an explanation.

"Ah…well…that is…I mean…That is to say…" Sylvia giggled a little harder as Ava crossed her legs and her arms, very much looking like a mother waiting for an explanation as to why her child was out past curfew, yet wearing a smirk that said she knew exactly why.

"You were investigating the old house, weren't you? You and Bickslow both?" Ava asked. Freed's jaw simply dropped at that point.

"How did you…?" Ava tapped her nose.

"It's easy to pick up a scent when you're a Dragon Slayer." Freed's eyes went wide.

"You my lady?!" he asked. Ava nodded.

"And before you ask, yes, Laxus knew I was a Slayer but that's not why he married me. He married me of his own accord and after learning the ways of my village for six years. My abilities were simply a bonus."

"A second bonus is Lightning and Water are very compatible," Sylvia chimed in before she yawned widely. "Well Ava, good luck with whatever you're planning to do tonight. Freed, we'd best get some sleep." The rune mage nodded, still somewhat out of it as his mind continued to absorb the news of Ava being a Dragon Slayer. "Come on now," Sylvia said as she grabbed Freed by the jacket on her way out. "Night Ava!'

"Good night you two," Ava called as her sister and Freed vanished from sight. She bent down and picked up the lacrima crystal again. "If anything…I should try to tell him I'm at least safe…" She gripped the crystal a little, allowing her magic to flow into it and her focus centered on her husband's energy.

The crystal warmed in her hand, telling her he was answering her call. Her eyes snapped open as she held her breath. An entire month since seeing her husband suddenly made her feel self-conscious of the fact that her hair probably looked like a mess and she probably looked tired.

The crystal turned black and Ava turned on a light lacrima nearby, but it changed nothing of the scene.

"Laxus?" she called. She heard a groan from the crystal and heard sounds like someone pulling something from a bag and she smiled when her husband's sleeping face came into view, his hand gripping the crystal tightly.

"Mnnn…not yet honey…tired." Ava's heart melted a little when she saw he was sleeping on the met he'd usually bring on all the jobs they used to go on together. He would bring it when he came back to their little beach-side cottage but once he was home, he'd sleep on a bed with her. A blush rose to her face thinking of the last time they'd used that bed together.

"Laxus, honey. Will you wake up for me, please?"

"Need sleep," Laxus groaned sleepily, bringing the crystal closer to him and nuzzling against it as if she were what was in his grasp, rather than a magic stone. Ava smirked deviously.

"Oh look, Natsu Dragneel and Grey Fullbuster have shown up all of a sudden," she said flatly. Laxus snarled in his sleep. "Oh my. Do you feel a breeze? Oh no, never mind. All my clothes seem to have vanished. Ooh-la-la." Laxus snapped awake, lightning flashing in his eyes as he shot to his feet and looked around wherever he was.

After a moment, he sat down properly and cast a glare at the crystal in his hand that would've been terrifying if he wasn't still half-asleep. Ava giggled a little.

"That was a dirty trick Ava."

"It woke you up though. Where are you?" Laxus covered a yawn and flicked his wrist, sending a lightning bolt at his dying campfire.

"Um…the woods…about a day or two's walk from home," he said, rubbing at his eyes.

"Well you should probably forget that trip and head for Magnolia. Because I'm not at the cottage." Laxus blinked, confused, before pieces began to reconnect in his exhausted brain and he slapped his forehead. "Forget you told me to come here? I'm at Freed's right now. The address you left at the Guild was incorrect so Sylvia and I figured we'd come here for the time." Laxus grit his teeth and snarled, more at himself than anything else. "Honey?"

"I'm so sorry. I guess everyone told you what I did?"

"Only Freed brought it up as far as in front of me. You tried a takeover…from your own grandfather? Can I ask why?" Laxus sighed.

"I wanted you to say you were a proud member of the Fairy Tail family. In recent years, the Guild's been filling up with people who just sit around, get drunk and stare at the request board, never taking one, bunch of freeloaders. I wanted them out so we could have a Guild that not only was a family, but really was the best it could be. Like your Gran once said, we're only as strong as our weakest link, right?" Ava smiled and shook her head. "There's also the fact that brawls break out on almost a daily basis and if we ever tried to have a little one, I'd hate for you to be involved in one." Ava raised an eyebrow before chuckling.

"Good point. Gran said it can be a bad thing if a mage uses too much magic before the baby absorbs enough," she agreed. "So, you gonna head back here, show me our home?"

"Of course. I'll head back now."

"Go back to sleep and come back in the morning. Even if you left right now, it'll take a week to get back home, won't it?"

"Not if I go directly through the Woodsea, it'll only take three days tops," Laxus said as he got up and began packing up what he could one-handed. Ava bit her lip.

"Be careful if you're going that way. Seriously, you can easily get lost in that place."

"I will be, don't worry. And if I do end up lost, I'll just teleport back home."

"Don't. You know your body can't handle teleporting multiple times or over long distances, you could lose and arm like that," Ava said with a snap of her fingers.

"Alright, alright, I won't do it that much," Laxus promised before tying up his bedroll, using his teeth to secure it.

"Alright. I'll be waiting. I love you." Laxus released the strap from his mouth and smiled at his wife.

"I love you to Ava."

"Good night. Oh and as far as being involved in a brawl, I almost got in one with the She-Devil and Titania Erza today." Laxus' eyes went wide as Ava hung up and set the lacrima aside, laughing to herself as she leaned back further in the couch's cushions. "Three days huh? Not too long to wait. But maybe…I can find something to make for him for when he comes home…" The lacrima lit up again, Laxus trying to contact her again. She knew he was going to explode about the brawl she'd mentioned so she'd just have to wait a little bit for him to calm down. While she did, she thought back to their earlier conversation. "A little one of our own? I'm looking forward to that too." The lacrima glowed brighter and Ava sighed before answering. Laxus didn't look calm in the least and opened his mouth to yell…

"You yell, I hang up," Ava warned. That managed to get him to calm down some.

Freed woke the next morning to a smiling Ava staring out the window, still holding the lacrima in her hand.

"Good news Freed, Laxus is on his way home," Ava reported with a smile. "Three days and he'll be in Magnolia again."

Justie: A short chapter, I know. And the beginning was freaking me out. Anyway, please leave a review and see ya next time!