The Holy Ghost
. . .
Laxus walked into the arena to the cheers of thousands of fans. The day of the Grand Magic Games had finally arrived. He watched his Mate walk out onto the sand with the other Fairy Tail team and tried to hide the smile the crept into his lips—it didn't match with his image.
Lucy and him had sealed the Mating a few weeks earlier and the bond between them had been growing ever since. Both of them were working hard to learn how to use and incorporate the other's magic, as well as the bond, into their fighting. Lucy had come so far, being able to draw electricity to her within a day of their Mating. Laxus had been having a more difficult time with the celestial magic, but his dragon soul had finally returned to him and was walking him through it.
But regardless of how ready he felt, the Games were upon them. Laxus sized up the other Guilds that lined the walls of the arena. Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, Quatro Cerberus, Blue Pegasus and Raven Tail. Some of the Guilds he knew of, some of them he didn't.
Laxus caught his Mate's eye from across the arena. He could sense her nerves through their bond and while they were still fairly new at its mechanics, he attempted to push comfort and reassurance back. Lucy felt it and smiled back at him. Laxus didn't think making her smile would ever get old.
But something drew his attention away from his Mate. Looking out across the stage, he locked eyes with a member of the Raven Tail Guild. In an eerie way, it felt like the entire Guild was staring at him, but he tried to shrug it off. He turned his attention on the member shrouded in gold armor and a fur-lined coat strikingly similar to his own. He paused, trying to suss out the man's magic signature, but announcements began to blare and he had to turn away.
. . .
Ivan knew Laxus was trying to sense his magic signature, but thanks to Obra's magic, it was unlikely Laxus would find it. He hated having to disguise his true identity to his son. But he knew the time would come for them to reunite. The plan was already set, the Games moderator had already ensured Ivan a one on one with his son. By the end of the Games, Ivan would have his son and his wife back, and if Erigor was successful, a power that could keep them all safe for the rest of their lives together.
When Ivan learned that Makarov had reported his use of transformation magic on a living being, making him a wanted man, he raged. Not only had the man taken his son and Guild from him, now he sought to take his freedom too.
Looking over at his son across the sand, he could see that the man radiated power. He was nothing like the sickly child he once was. Ivan knew that as painful as it was, he had done the right thing by implanting him with that lacrima.
Announcements blared over the loud speaker signaling the start of Ivan's plan.
. . .
"Bringing the lightning is Fairy Tail B's Laxus Dreyar!" the announcer said in a booming voice.
The crowd roared their approval and Laxus shrugged off his coat. He pulled Lucy to him, embracing her briefly before heading down the stairs out to the arena. Yesterday had been painful. The Raven Tail Guild had harmed his Mate and he was glad that he was going to get a chance to even the score with their Guild Master.
"Going up against a mysterious mage in a metal mask, Raven Tail's Alexi!" The two men looked at one another from across the sand.
"Competitors, step forward! Let the battle begin!" the announcer shouted as the gong sounded.
Laxus narrowed his eyes as he walked towards his opponent. "Nice mask. Wanna tell me who you really are?"
Lucy watched from the balcony and she couldn't believe her eyes as she watched Laxus' opponent lunge forward, knocking him off balance. The crowd gasped as Alexi continued to pummel Laxus, landing hits before the lightning slayer even had a chance to fight back.
"Is this for real? He's losing!" Natsu shouted from his spot next to Lucy.
"What the hell is going on?" Gajeel said in a bit of disbelief as he watched his team member being beaten.
"Incredible! Alexi strikes with a harsh blow to the jaw! He's left Laxus completely powerless!" the announcer said over the loud speaker.
Lucy watched as her Mate was thrown to the floor, before he struggled to get up. She shook her head. "Something's not right."
"Huh?" Natsu said beside her. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," Lucy admitted. "But what I'm seeing doesn't match with what I'm feeling."
. . .
Laxus remained standing across from Alexi just as the match had started. His vision had become shrouded in shadow and he watched the spectacle playing out before him. "Care to explain what's going on here?" he said in a gruff tone.
"Illusory magic," Alexi said through his mask. "It's the only way we could have a private conversation." Laxus watched his false self continue to take harsh blows. "Those around us cannot see or hear us, even though we are standing right in front of them. They're watching an illusion of the two of us fighting."
The crowd was giving off confused tones as they continued to watch the powerhouse dragon slayer being beaten by this unknown masked man. "Incredibly convincing, isn't it? Not a single person has noticed. They're all watching you struggle in a losing fight."
"I don't get it," Laxus said looking around. "This plan of yours doesn't make any sense at all. What's the point of beating me with an illusion? I mean can you call that a win?"
"Victory in this battle is not my primary goal. The purpose of this illusion is to distract those around us. Don't you see, I control this illusion." Laxus watched as the false him seemed to gain second wind, pushing Alexi back to the opposite side of the arena with charged punches. He turned to watch his guildmates cheering. He also looked at Lucy and realized that her gaze wasn't focused on the false him, but she was looking at where he actually was.
Laxus turned his attention back to Alexi. "I don't give a crap about your fucking illusion." He allowed electricity to charge his body. "I'll defeat you in this realm, if I have to."
Laxus watched as Alexi lifted his hand up to his mask, before removing it. It revealed a face Laxus could only remember from his childhood—his father's. The man's complexion was darker than before, as was his hair, but there was no mistaking it was Ivan.
"Makarov forced us apart all those years ago. He kept you from me for his own selfish reasons. Just as he kept the secret power of Fairy Tail all to himself. Don't you understand, Laxus? I've finally come back for you. Once we claim the power of Fairy Tail, we can be a family again—you me and your mother."
Laxus narrowed his eyes. "The way I remember it was that you pushed a fucking lacrima into my chest that nearly killed me and that's why you were expelled."
Ivan seethed. "I did what I had to do to make you stronger! Why is it that no one can see that?"
"It was fucked up. You fucked up," Laxus said in a flat voice.
"I bet you didn't know you were born without magic, huh? I bet Makarov hid that fact from you. But look at you now! You're stronger than any wizard I've ever encountered. I can feel your power from where I'm standing. It only goes to prove that I was right to do what I did."
Laxus scoffed. "The old man did tell me what had happened when I was old enough to understand it. And this lacrima, yeah I'm strong now but it's caused a whole lot of problems in my life that you weren't there to help with. So don't go around talking about things you don't understand," Laxus spat.
This was not going how he had envisioned it. This was the reunion he had been planning for decades. Didn't his son understand that he loved him? Why didn't Laxus understand that he had done what he did to protect him? "Your mother died because she didn't possess magic. I wasn't going to lose you too!"
"Fucked up thing is that you almost killed me in the process," Laxus retorted, uncrossing his arms.
"Tell me where Makarov hid it!" Ivan yelled, losing his cool.
Laxus furrowed his brow. "Hid what?"
"Don't play dumb with me, boy!" Ivan spat. "Your Fairy Tail's Guild Master now, there's no way that you don't know."
"Look old man, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
Ivan yelled in frustration, clenching his fists. Calling on he rest of his guild members to appear, he turned his attention back to his son. "If you don't agree to come with me voluntarily, I'll take you back by force. Once our family is back together, you'll see I was right all along."
"You're delusional!" Laxus yelled back, taking a fighting stance as the other members of the guild appeared. He looked at the red head and his instincts went wild. He focused the energy the way Cristoff had taught him, harnessing the rage of the dragon and his magical power soared. "Come at me."
Ivan raised his arms above his head, summoning a multitude of shikigami dolls. He directed the spirits at Laxus. Laxus responded with his own electricity, breaking the paper around.
His heart was torn and he hated himself for it. As he looked at his father, shouting things about a secret power and about his dead mother, he realized the man was deranged or at the very least, distraught over his mother's death and never able to move past it. Ivan had hurt him, yes, but he had done so as a result of his pain. Striking him down now just didn't seem right.
"Laxus!" Lucy yelled his name and he heard it over the crowd. Laxus smiled, finding strength in his convictions and understanding what it was he needed to do.
"Do it now, Obra!" Ivan shouted at the blue man behind him. "Drain his magic! It's time Laxus understand his true place in this world."
But before the mage had a chance to cast his spell, Laxus was there, sending him flying across the arena full of electricity. "The next time you fuck with my Mate, you better make sure that I'm dead and buried, first!" Laxus yelled at the Guild.
"Red hair scorch!" Flare screamed, directing an attack at the lightning slayer. Her hair wrapped around Laxus' wrist and she cheered.
"I got you now, Blondie!" she shouted.
Laxus scoffed. "Think again," he said before he sent a lightning roar straight at her. The girl screamed in pain as she went tumbling to the floor. "Don't you ever threaten my Mate," he seethed, electricity increasing around him.
The final Guild members tried their attacks on the mage but he barely had to draw on his energy to send them flying across the arena. Ivan watched in panic as Laxus took out his entire Guild. How he was going to get him back to the Raven Tail guildhall now, he didn't know.
Laxus walked towards Ivan, lightning whipping around the man. "Laxus, stop!" his father pleaded. "I'm your own flesh and blood! You can't do this." Laxus walked up to the man and raised his fist. Ivan flinched as his son brought his hand down onto his shoulder, but nothing happened.
"I'm sorry that mom died," Laxus said, the lightning around him subsiding. "And I'm sorry that you didn't get the help you needed to deal with it," he continued. "But you have to let her go."
Ivan shook his head. "You don't understand. Laxus, your mother is alive!"
"Please, just let her go," Laxus pleaded.
Ivan reached under his cape and Laxus flinched but relaxed as he brought out a little glass bottle with a lifeless paper doll inside. "Laxus, I used my magic before she died. Your mother is alive. With the power of Fairy Tail, we can bring her back!"
Laxus looked at the piece of paper inside the bottle and then at his father. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this." Before Ivan could stop him, Laxus had grabbed the bottle and smashed it to the floor.
"No!" Ivan screamed as Laxus grabbed the doll and tore it in two. Ivan lunged forward, trying to stop him but as soon as he did, a voice he hadn't heard for over two decades called out to him.
"Ivan, my love." Both men looked up in disbelief as the image of Emilia Dreyar stood before them. "And Laxus, my son. Look at how much you've grown."
Laxus' eyes widened and he felt moisture in his eyes. Was this some sort of trick? Was this Obra's illusion magic again?
"I promise you, it is no trick," his mother responded, somehow knowing his thoughts. She stepped forward and embraced Ivan, who had fallen to the floor in disbelief. "I know what you tried to do, Ivan. But you have to let me go. Please, let me pass on into the dream plane."
"Emilia, my love," Ivan nearly cried. "I can bring you back. We can be a family again."
The beautiful woman shook her head, her blonde hair moving behind her. "We will always be a family, Ivan. But I cannot return to you."
"I need you," Ivan sobbed. "I can't do this without you. The idea of getting you back is the only thing that has kept me alive all this time."
"We'll be together again at the end of this life, my love. And in the meantime, why not focus on the family you do have with you now. Laxus is here now and that boy Erigor looks up to you so much."
Laxus furrowed his brow. He'd have to revisit how Erigor was involved in all this later. "Mom?" he finally found his voice. "Is that really you?"
The apparition smiled and stood, walking over to him. She embraced him and Laxus felt tears slide down his eyes. "Yes," she replied simply. "Or rather, this is the piece of me that has been unable to leave this world."
"How are you here?" he couldn't make sense of what she was saying.
"I am here through your father's grief. But despite that, I am glad to be able to hold you. Look at you," she smiled at her son. "You're so strong and quite handsome." She turned to look at Ivan. "You look just like your father did when I first met him." Laxus couldn't stop the tears that were now streaming down his face. "You must be a total hit with the ladies," his mother remarked, as if they were catching up like old friends. "You got a girl?"
Laxus nodded his head. "A Mate, yeah. Her name's Lucy," he said, looking up at his partner in the stands. His mother followed his gaze upward and the two women smiled at one another.
"She's beautiful, Laxus. I'm so proud of you."
"Mom," Laxus said but he couldn't find any other words.
His mother embraced him again. "My time is running out here." She turned back to Ivan. "My love. There is no power that can bring me back to this world. You need to understand that, and let me go." Ivan was sobbing. This was not how it was supposed to be. "Come now," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "Be strong. We'll be together again soon." Ivan nodded his head as she kissed his cheek.
"Help him, won't you, my son?" Emilia said, looking up at Laxus.
The slayer nodded his head. "I will. I promise."
"That's my boy," she said with a smile. "I love you both," were the last words she said before her image faded away before their eyes.
The illusion magic broke around them and the crowd looked on in shock as they saw Laxus and Ivan in the center of the arena, frozen with tears streaming down their face.
Up in the announcer's box, Lahar recognized who the masked man was and ordered his men down to the sand to make the arrest. "No, stop!" Laxus shouted as he watched the Rune Knights carry away his father.
. . .
Ivan was ultimately charged with and pled guilty to the unlawful use of magic upon a human. The magic counsel sentenced him to five years in prison. Laxus was true to his word, and he visited his father at least once a week, often bringing Lucy with him to the prison.
The beginning months were difficult. Ivan was still so lost in grief after seeing his wife and realizing she was never going to return to him in this life. But as the months moved forward and Ivan received counseling he needed while under the state's custody, things started to improve. Laxus could sense the difference, as could Lucy.
By the end of the first year, he and Lucy looked forward to their weekly visits to Ivan. On his solo visits, Laxus and Ivan would sit and talk for hours, catching up on all the things they had missed over the decades.
Ivan told Laxus about his half brother Erigor and Laxus was able to make contact with him. The two had a history but they were making efforts to move past it.
By the third year, Ivan had become a certified counselor himself, and was assisting in leading counseling sessions at the prison for others dealing with grief. He found great purpose in it and when he was finally released, he decided it was something he would continue to do.
There were still moments when he found himself with tears in his eyes, thinking about his wife and everything he had lost. But when he looked at where he was, in the middle of the Fairy Tail guildhall, surrounded by his family, both blood and extended, he knew he was living the life his wife had wished for him and he knew that he would see her again when he crossed into the dream plane.