Devil in the Mirror

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"So… this is it?" Laxus rumbled calmly. "Looks like any other pile of rubble to me."

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"The entrance had to be concealed so that suspicious stragglers wouldn't discover us," Erza informed him certainly.

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"So, what're you waitin' for?" Gajeel pried, watching the apprehensive warrior shift her weight.

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"I just don't know how to approach this," Erza admitted bashfully. "The last anyone had probably heard, I'd been captured by the Magic Council. If I return like this, they might suspect that I was broken out of custody by an enemy force and sent in as a wolf in sheep's clothing."

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"Are things really that bad?" Levy whispered worrisomely.

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"You heard Natsu and Lucy… it will take years to erase the scars of what we've seen," she drew in a deep breath and took her first step forwards. "But if this means it will simply take no more than forty-eight hours, I'd gladly risk it…"

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"Take me," Gajeel interrupted upon joining her side. "As far as any of these guys know, I'm six feet under." He looked down on Erza with a wry grin. "Unless you've learned how to raise the dead in the last six years, they gotta believe you."

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Erza thought on his suggestion for a moment before smiling back with a hard nod. "Right."

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Neirah sighed edgily as she watched the two disappear around the rubble towards the tunnel leading to the shelter Fairy Tail's refugees currently called home. "I can't believe we've got to tip toe around like this…"

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Laxus watched his wife pace around anxiously for a moment before he reached out and took her by the shoulders. Levy flinched as Laxus picked Neirah up by her shoulders, drew her back, and set her right back down by his side. "Stay," he warned her sternly, folding his arms back over his chest. "If you start freaking out, I'm gonna freak out."

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Levy bit her lower lip and rocked on her heels apprehensively. "Oh God, with everything that's going on, PLEASE don't freak out while I'm alone with you two…"

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"Yo!" Levy turned with a sigh of relief to face where Gajeel was emerging. "We're cool in here."

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Laxus watched as Neirah and Levy started for the entrance. "I'm gonna stay out here," he rumbled apprehensively. He turned to keep a weathered eye on the darkening horizon. "I've got a real bad feelin'."

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Gajeel's expression darkened as Levy and Neirah passed him by. Neirah caught her breath nervously as she felt the tension brewing within her big brother for her husband's paranoia but she was uncertain as to why it was there. "Everything alright, Screwball?" She crooned upon lowering her hood from around her face.

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"Yea," he admitted curtly. He firmly dropped his palm onto the top of her head as he passed her. "You two go gab, I'm gonna stay out here with Sparky."

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"O-ok," she staggered out timidly. "We'll try to be quick. If we can get a strong lead out of someone inside, we might be able to go back to Natsu's and hide out there until our time is up."

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"Right…"

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She nodded back at him nervously as he took Laxus' side. With a deep inhale, she followed closely behind Levy and entered the Fairy Tail stronghold.

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Neirah's heart sank as she entered the dimly lit cavern, tired and damaged faces staring back at her like a room full of half-starved strays. "No… Oh god… is this all that's left?" She whimpered sadly. Her heart ached as a battle-weary Mirajane approached her with the saddest smile she'd ever seen the woman display.

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"I'm sorry for this if it really is you," Mira cooed gently. "But if you really did come to us from the past, you should still have your guild marks, right?" She looked down at her feet, trying to hide that she was ready to bare teeth the moment she called their bluff. "It's not that I don't trust Erza's word, but Fairy Tail's crest was the first thing you three stripped from your bodies…"

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"O-of course," Levy clamoured out. She quickly unlaced her cloak to reveal her marked shoulder blade.

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Neirah was swiftly behind her, baring her chest that was still coloured with golden fairy pride. "It would be the last thing I'd remove," she whispered certainly to her dear friend. Neirah caught her breath as Mirajane threw herself against the infinite dragon slayer with desperate tears in her eyes, a trembling smile on her lips.

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"It is you," she whispered weakly against Neirah's auburn locks. "You came…"

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"There are so few of you…" Neirah whimpered. She returned the she-devil's embrace, devastated to feel the woman trembling in her arms.

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Mira wiped tears from her eyes, reapplying her smile with all the sincerity she could muster in such conditions. "It is likely anyone you don't see here has either been taken from us or detained by the Magic Council. A few wizards sided with your future selves, but not as many as you'd like to believe…"

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"Jellal and the others… they never returned," Erza reported vacantly.

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Levy approached with tears in her eyes. "It's terrible… Shadow, these aren't only Fairy Tail wizards… There are wizards from Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus too."

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"These small numbers… these are all the free wizards left in Fiore?!" Neirah started to tremble in terror.

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"All that we know of…" Mira concluded humbly. "It's possible that more have hidden out in the mountains or forests like Natsu and Lucy, but we have no way of knowing for sure…"

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"Levy… Levy, is it really you?"

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Levy caught her breath and turned to glance a face once familiar to her, a shrill squeak in her voice as she spoke. "Jet… your eye."

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Jet fell into Levy's embrace off the crutch he hobbled around on. "I thought I'd never see you again…"

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Levy did a quick scan of the room before her devastated gaze fell back on Jet's. "Jet… where is Droy?" Her heart broke when Jet recoiled with the sound of Droy's name on her lips like she was about to strike him.

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"I guess the future you… didn't want to see us again," he managed weakly.

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Levy staggered back a step, shaking her head. "I… I hurt Droy?"

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Jet nodded in heartache. "You hurt a lot of people, Lev…"

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Levy whirled around with a furious whine. "Shadow, we have to stop this!" She exclaimed in determination despite the tears streaking her face. "This is a nightmare!"

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"It's not our nightmare, Levy!" Neirah recoiled with her words as all eyes fell on her. She ground her teeth and shook her head to deny the pathetic gazes staring through her. She immediately wished her husband was at her hip. "Laxus was right… I'm sorry but… we came here to find out what happened so we can go back to the past and prevent this future from ever happening… We're not here to save this future…"

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The room went silent for a long moment before someone stepped forwards. A chill crawled across the dusty floor as a familiar blade of ice formed to a cold hand. "I can think of one way to prevent this from ever happening."

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"Lyon!" Shelia wailed desperately, screeching in terror as the ice-make wizard lunged towards an unsuspecting Neirah.

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"This is for Gray!"

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Before Neirah could catch her breath, the frozen blade was glittering as its shards fell to the ground before her beneath defensive claws. The silent room trembled as Lyon stared back into the crazed sapphire expression of their host.

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"One more false move, Lyon, and you'll be fending for yourself outside these walls," a satanic Mirajane warned him sternly.

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Lyon fell back with a rattled grunt of uncertainty, watching the stern woman return to her original form once more.

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Mira quietly turned and looked seriously back towards Neirah, who was clearly on the verge of breaking under the pressure weighing her shoulder's down. "We'll tell you everything we can," Mira assured her sweetly. "If we figure it out, then all these memories will fade like nothing terrible ever happened. Then we can all go home… with all the friend's we've lost…"

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Levy's heart ached as she watched Jet crying silently on the damp floor. "We have no time to waste," she uttered gently while turning to face the women. "I have lots of questions..."

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Forty-Five Hours Remain

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"They've been in there a while." Gajeel was speculative as he shifted his weight uncomfortably next to a man he'd swear was made of stone. He cast his gaze towards where Laxus watched the glowing horizon and although he tried to imagine that the sunset was all that appealed to his friend, he knew better. "Do you think they've learned anything?"

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"Don't know," was the curt response he received. Gajeel actually found himself flinching when Laxus finally turned to look down on him. "You sure time's not just draggin' because you're nervous about bein' out here alone with me."

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Gajeel thought on his words for a long moment before settling and turning his gaze out towards the horizon to match. "Nah," he admitted softly. "There was a time I probably wouldn't'a found it real comforting but… We stood the same way over my kid sister's grave a few years back, we stood this way when Ghoul Knight succeeded in bringin' back that dragon… and we stood this way when you married her." He turned and looked back at Laxus with a reassuring smile. "Gihi… So yeah, we've stood through worse than this, I'm sure." Gajeel turned away when Laxus smiled back at him. "Besides," he rumbled through his hearty sigh. "If you wanted to kill me, you had plenty of chances to do it before now."

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"I can remember around that time we had a slew of new members joining," Mirajane explained in a small room secluded from the other refugees. "But I can't remember anyone suspicious."

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"Anyone who had a magic capable of causing the events we've seen here?" Neirah interrogated gently. "I would have suggested an Astaulian but I haven't seen once since '92."

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Mira shook her head sadly. "Not that I can remember."

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"And we can pretty much rule out anyone with a connection to Marionette," she assured the table. "Not even Zade was capable of this level of control. Laxus was still able to show signs of consciousness through it so at least one of us should still be sane."

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"You seem really sure that someone else is in control of this situation," Mira offered sceptically. "I'm not saying that you and Laxus just broke each other, but who would ever want to ruin what we had?"

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"I'm not sure if Fairy Tail was the target," Levy started thoughtfully. She scribbled down some facts on the notepad she'd brought along with her before beginning a brief consolidation. She flipped through her notes, her Wind Reader glasses glowing efficiently. "I think the fact that our Master was targeted first is a coincidence."

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"You think they were after Laxus himself?"

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Levy sighed and slipped her glasses off her nose. "Frankly, yes."

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"That can't be right," Neirah denied apprehensively. "Laxus hasn't caused anyone any problems for a long time."

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Mira bowed her head sadly with the troubling thought. "Yes, but he wasn't always a real nice guy to be around either."

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Neirah's breathing hitched as she trembled at the thought.

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"I know I sound like a broken record," Levy started enthusiastically. "But I really want to know who the woman was that Lyra heard scream right before the battle began. The way Lyra described it, it made it sound like Neirah killed her and that is what made Laxus so angry, but if that were true, it wouldn't be a magic infecting the minds of our future selves. The caster wouldn't be alive to continue the spell." She nibbled on her pen impatiently. "You said that Laxus went home early that day, which he NEVER does."

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"That's true," Neirah agreed humbly. "And if he does, I sure as heck know about it. But he's always so stressed about the guild and running it that most nights I have to bring dinner to him at the guild hall."

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"The easy option was for us to believe that Neirah had caught Laxus being unfaithful," Levy concluded. "Neirah was furious, struck down the woman he was caught with and then attacked Laxus himself."

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"No," Mira whispered in denial. "I know Laxus has been known to have a bit of a reputation, but he's changed. He'd rather give his own life than betray his family."

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"I'm not denying that," Levy speculated. "But I'm saying that it would be an easy way for someone to conceal that we were being manipulated."

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Neirah's eyes widened with the expulsion of Levy's theory. "You think we were made to believe that I killed the woman so that any suspicion of magical intervening would be doubted."

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"Exactly," Levy confirmed. "Because almost any manipulative magic, even strong spells, lose their effectiveness once the victim is aware of the castor's identity. So, I can pretty much guarantee that magic was involved." She turned and looked at Mirajane seriously. "If what I suspect is true, I'm almost certain that the woman Lyra heard 'die', is not actually dead."

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"Lyra said she didn't recognise the voice of the woman in the yard so that rules out anyone who she was raised with," Neirah mumbled quietly. "Which with her parent's wizarding reputation was a LOT of the wizarding community."

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"And so many people joined the guild around that time that it would be hard to pinpoint which one he left with," Mira groaned. "And that's if he left with anyone. Lyra may have been manipulated to imagine the whole thing!"

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"Wait," Levy muttered. "Wait, no, hold on!" She threw her notes down impatiently and stood, laying her hands on the weathered table. "We might be wasting what little time we have!" She demanded. "The day this started, people said they saw Laxus leave early, but they didn't mention that he left with anybody!"

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"Oh God…" Neirah groaned, slamming her head against the panelling under her palms. "It could be anyone then!"

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"That's true," Levy started positively. "But what we neglected to take into account was that Alex took Lyra to their rooms. Alex wasn't in their rooms to begin with."

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Neirah gasped in realisation. "He spends so much time out in the yard practising magic, maybe he saw something!"

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"He's not far from here so there's no reason why we can't ask him quickly."

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"And if the woman Lyra heard really was a wizard, we have wizards from guilds all around the continent here in this stronghold," Mira exclaimed. She pushed out her chair and climbed to her feet equally as determined as Levy. "I can stay here and question everyone I can about whether they know users of this type of magic. Meanwhile, you two go back to Lucy's and ask Alex if he got a look at the woman before he ran inside to protect his little sister."

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Neirah nodded sternly with a confident smile. "We won't be-" Neirah froze when the door flew open to the makeshift room they occupied, a panting Elfman filled with panic.

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"Mira! They found us! They've blocked all the exits!"

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The three women paled, their hearts racing with fear.

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Neirah's eyes widened with her wandering thoughts as she caught her breath. "Laxus…"

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Her steps were slow and methodical as she weaved her hips from side to side, approaching down the corridor. The hollow click of her heels echoed beneath every step as a hush fell over the wizards she approached. "Oh? No warm welcome for an old friend?" She raked acidic claws over the debris making up the walls of the stronghold, the tunnel starting to collapse into bright pieces alongside her with its decay. "That's disappointing." She rolled her head to the side, the small curls escaping her elegant up-do flopping over the curvature of her face. "Well? Isn't anyone going to ask me what I want? That's how this works. Bad guy shows up, you tell me to make my demands like the frightened cattle you are-"

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"What do you want, Neirah!"

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Neirah tipped her gaze over her shoulder to face a lone Mirajane standing defiantly against her, and if she'd had a serpent's tongue, it would have been fluttering in front of her sinister grin. "Mira, darling, it's been a while."

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"Not long enough," Mira all but growled in defence of her family and friends. "I asked you what you wanted."

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"And I'm sure you know full well that I've come for something quite particular, seeing as you haven't been summoned by the scent of your comrades burning flesh."

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Mira tried to remain unshakeable as the Empress approached, fangs dripping with malice and reptilian eyes hot for revenge. "Natsu isn't here!" Mira demanded impatiently. "You'll have to search elsewhere! Nobody here is a threat to you, so just leave!" If nothing else, as menacing as the Empress was, she was somewhat coherent and logical. If Laxus had of found them, they would already be ash.

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"Oh, that's cute," Neirah purred venomously. "You think I'm after the little flame-spitter, well I hate to tell you no, but," she laughed melodically before replacing her musical tone with sadism. "Oh wait, no I don't." She was nose-to-nose with Mirajane now. "No." Neirah backed away and overlooked the crowd of cowering wizards. "A little flying kitty told me that my enemy… has been betrayed," she purred in spirited form. "And that I might find that little traitor within your walls."

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"I won't let you take Ever!"

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"Elfman!" Mira's cries were silenced by his roars as she was forced to watch the beast form of her younger brother lunge towards their enemy.

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Neirah scoffed in disgust and lazily drew her palm back before driving the hand up beneath his jaw. A hush fell among the crowd for one still moment before shards of ice leapt from her still hand and pierced his flesh.

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"NO!" Mira wailed in horror, watching her brother collapse to the ground.

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"You know?" Neirah crooned over the sound of Mirajane and Lisanna crying over their brother helplessly. "This has given me an idea." Her musings were sadistic as she checked her nails for blood. "I really… really want to find a very special beast, and its location could very well be known within these walls. So… how about I kill one of you every few minutes until you surrender the wannabe fairy." She threw her hands out to either side with a beaming smile. "Oh good! Let's play!"

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"I can't just leave Elfman and the girl's back there with that psychopath!" Evergreen demanded through trembling breaths as she crawled through a small tunnel between Neirah and Levy.

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"You have to," Levy argued. "We need to get out of here and if Neirah got her hands on you, not only would you die, but so would everyone else who had any information that we might be able to use. This way, she'll have to go through them all to find you."

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"Your scapegoating everyone inside?!" Evergreen protested. "That's just as terrible as the things she's done!"

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"Not if we can make this right!" Neirah defended.

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"But you heard Elfman! She's blocked all the exits!"

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"Yes, but according to Elfman, there is a crack in the wall large enough to see through not far from here," Neirah encouraged.

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"Why does that matter? She's boxed us in!"

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Levy smiled confidently and held up her light pen. "It will be all I need."

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"I don't think it's my imagination anymore," Gajeel rumbled sceptically. "They've been gone way too long."

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Laxus quickly scanned the still earth around them, his heart thundering in his chest. His breathing hitched when he heard the low rumble in the distance, and with heavy breaths, he slowly raised his head to watch the storm approach.

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"What's wrong?" Gajeel inquired in a voice raised in alarm.

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Laxus panted out a few hard breaths before the crimson sky started to turn smoky with the humidity in the air. His bleak whisper was hoarse with the apprehension in his voice. "That's my thunder…"

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"Levy, what's taking so long?" Neirah murmured hurriedly under her breath. "Rewriting your own enchantments should be easy."

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"Not even close!" Levy defended gently while dabbing the sweat from her brow. "Shads, this whole enchantment is written in Alra'Bekthian!"

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"What!?"

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"What does that mean?" Evergreen fretted nervously.

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"It means that the only two people that can speak this language aren't very fluid in it six years ago," Neirah groaned dismally.

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"That's it, I'm goin' in to warn the girls," Gajeel restlessly informed. "We gotta take off before-"

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Laxus whirled around the moment he heard his comrade call out in pain and frustration. "What the hell happened?" He demanded in alarm.

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"The hell?" Gajeel growled and rubbed at the side of his face to soothe the area that had crashed into the unsuspected barrier. "Levy's got us locked out?!"

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Laxus stepped forward and reached out until the fizzle of denial was crackling around his fingers. "It's gotta be hers," he rumbled distantly. "Freed's enchantments look nothing like this."

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"Why the hell would she want to keep us out?!"

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Laxus' breath caught, the hollow rumble of thunder in the distance paling in comparison to the terror of realisation striking him in the next moment. "Or to keep everyone else in." He poked at the barrier again to reveal its script, and as it faded, he repeated the action.

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Laxus pulled away and scanned the area as quickly as possible. "Shra'celia..."

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"What the hell are you talkin' about?!"

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"This whole enchantment… It must be written in that freaky cult language Neirah grew up with," he rushed out in concern. Luckily for him, the only words he knew of the Austalian demon language was bright as day in front of him.

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"How did you know that?!"

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"Not important. What is, is that there are only two people left alive who speak the language of demons." Laxus dismissed his ally, starting to circle the stronghold. "Guess her mom was a freak too."

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"Crap. You're thinkin' future Levy is here?"

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"She must be," Laxus speculated, carefully rounding corners as the iron dragon slayer trailed him. "And if she's here, I can guarantee you that so is my future fucking wife."

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"Shit, we're screwed," Gajeel hissed impatiently. He watched dark clouds roll in around them, trying to deny the racing of his heart for his worry to maintain a strong appearance. "I was really hopin' we'd make it back without having to try and deal with this."

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Laxus swung around and faced him seriously. "We're not facing shit," he dictated certainly. "We're gonna get the girls out of here, and we're gonna turn tail."

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"The hell about all the people still trapped inside?!"

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"They're not our fucking problem," Laxus demanded, raking Gajeel towards him by his collar. "We die here, it's game over. Sure, none of this ever happened, but a whole nother kind of hell is gonna open up for those kids back at home!"

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Gajeel stared back at him for a long and contemplative moment before nodding and following his lead.

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"I can't believe you helped him find her!" Freed demanded, flying as fast as his wings could carry him.

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"You saw what he was capable of when you didn't play by his rules!" Bickslow argued defensively. "I didn't have a choice! Besides, I didn't see Ever with the rest of them so there's a chance she already got out."

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"Hopefully that is exactly what happened," Freed murmured optimistically as they approached Hargeon's port. "Laxus should keep Neirah distracted long enough for me to rewrite the enchantment Levy's laid to trap them all inside."

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"Right, let's move!"

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"There she is," Gajeel whispered quietly. His throat worked dryly as he watched a future version of his wife speed through an old book like she hadn't just trapped a bunch of old friends in a cage with a bloodthirsty demon. The biggest difference he didn't expect to see was the hair that cascaded in gentle blue waves past her shoulders. He'd never seen his wife with longer hair... or in half a leather bodysuit. "Man, Lucy wasn't kiddin'… there's no way in hell I'm gonna be able to mix those two up." Gajeel swung around to face Laxus as the man caught an amused snort in the back of his throat. "What the hell was that for?"

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"Nothin'…" Laxus rumbled coldly. He shifted his derisive gaze away from attempts of the mock leather-clad bad girl. He laid his palm on the other man's shoulder before pushing forwards. "I'll ridicule you and your woman when we get back home. Right now, we've got to try and get the jump on tiny. If theses psychos are powered up, I'm not gonna risk a full out assault, even against the tiny ones."

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Gajeel growled lowly as Laxus slipped around the other side of some debris, obviously trying to surround the unsuspecting script mage. "Not gonna lie, she looks kinda cute with long hair," he murmured quietly to himself while following the lead. "Fuck that, who am I kidding, that's dynamite."

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"Ok Shads, I think I found a bit I can work with here," Levy informed her hurriedly. "I just need some help with the context."

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"Great," Neirah sighed. "The thing that's hardest with this stupid language."

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Levy closed her eyes tight and balled her fists in frustration. "Errg… it cuts off before I can finish reading even one sentence!" Levy fumed. "I need more room!" The three girls flinched as the rocky debris crumbled away around them as if on cue, their expressions pale and uncertain.

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"Crap!"

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"Would you just shut up and keep moving!"

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"I'm tryin' but my foot's stuck in a damn hole!"

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"Real fucking stealthy, champ," Laxus hissed.

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"I know those boots," Neirah whispered in relief.

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"Gajeel!" Levy whispered. She reached out to touch the edge of the enchantment to make the characters fuss. "Down here!"

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"Huh? Levy?" He knelt towards the hole, as close as the barrier would let him get. "We figured out that you got company," Gajeel informed them quietly. "They must've come in from another entrance 'cause I don't think they saw us."

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"Thank God," Neirah expelled with relief. "Is Laxus with you?"

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"Yea and just as sunny as ever," Gajeel rumbled dismally. "Soon to be both of them."

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"What?!"

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"Oh no…" Evergreen fretted helplessly, tears streaming down her face from wide eyes. "There's no escaping this… We're-"

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"Would you quit your whining?"

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Evergreen gasped and turned her gaze towards the opening she'd been avoiding, catching her breath as Laxus joined Gajeel's side.

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"We're gonna get you guys out of there and then turn these psychos on one another." He offered her a small and reassuring smile. "Then you and the rest of em' take off as fast as you can in as many opposite directions as possible, got it?"

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Evergreen held her fingers to her flushed features in front of her smile. "Yes, sir."

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Levy turned back to Gajeel with a determined look on her dainty features. "Alright Gajeel, listen, I need you to do something for me..."

.

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"Now then… it's been more than a few minutes and nobody seems to have been grateful for my generosity," Neirah crooned devilishly. A wicked smile curled her painted lips. "Which is fine for me actually because I think I'm just about ready to kill again." She slowly scanned the room of fretful expressions, clinging to each other for hope. She laid a long and polished nail to her lips in thought. "But who to choose… Ah!" With a beaming smile, she reached up and took Lisanna up by her hair, dragging her to her feet in front of the merciless woman. "I know, what better way to cement a rivalry than by killing both of my enemy's younger siblings?"

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"No," Mira whimpered desperately. "Please, take me instead!"

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Neirah's golden gaze widened before wandering down to where Mirajane clamoured about at her feet. Surprisingly, she dropped Lisanna back to the ground before taking a step towards the shattered she-devil. "Hmn, that is a good idea too," she purred in approval. "Kill you and leave the youngest to fend for herself without the love of her older siblings to comfort her. Ooo hoo hoo – you're bad…"

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Mira looked back at the demonic empress with defiance sparking in her soft blue eyes.

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"Oh, wait now. If I'm going to be bad, I might as well do it right," Neirah mused. She flipped her palm out to summon a shadowy blade to her grasp. "I'm supposed to ask you if you have any final words, blah blah."

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"Just four," Mira spat out vehemently.

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A sinister grin curled Neirah's lips as she weaved around the woman and slipped the shadowy blade beneath her throat. With a menacing grin, Neirah gently leant in from the side and kissed Mira's cheek. "Proceed, little fairy."

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Mira took a deep breath and tipped her head back in call of the deranged woman's bluff. "Neirah will stop you!"

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The Infinite Empress barely had time to raise her eyes before thunder was shaking the stronghold's makeshift walls around them. In her distraction, Mira slipped free and clasped her frightened little sister to her chest. "He's come?" Neirah murmured quietly. Her gaze darkened bitterly as she bared her teeth and swung her gaze around to the tunnel at her back. "Levy!"

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Neirah turned away from the debris as her iron fist broke it away from Levy's path. "There, try that," she coughed. She covered her face to shield if from the dust.

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With her solid script mask, Levy went to work. "Ok good, that's a start," she clamoured. Her light pen started squeaking frantically as she worked.

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"Be careful!" Evergreen warned. "This place is already unstable enough. It won't take much before it all comes down."

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"Gajeel!" Levy called out sternly. "See if the other me has some form of dictionary on her! There's no way I learned all this in just six years!"

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Gajeel grunted softly and blushed as he looked down on the woman he'd managed to get close enough to knock out. "Hate to break it to you Lev, but it's pretty easy to tell that there's nothin' on you underneath this get up."

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Levy growled in frustration and rubbed her temples behind her Wind Reader glasses. "Damn, remind me to kick your butt for being a perv later."

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"We got company."

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Neirah looked up to where Laxus' gaze was narrowing on the horizon and she flinched when sparks lit up his wrists. "Who is it?!" She exclaimed uncertainly. "Is it me?"

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"Looks like two for team crazy me," he rumbled gruffly. "Comin' in fast."

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"Two for Laxus?" Evergreen gasped and neared the barrier once more. "Is it Freed and Bickslow!?"

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"Friendly?" Laxus questioned bluntly.

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"Of course they are!" Evergreen encouraged. "Freed! Bickslow, over here!"

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"That's weird," Levy murmured dismally. She watched the two approach, calling out to their friend. "Everyone else seems to be catching this loss of control like it's a virus… how did they manage to avoid it? They're attached to Laxus at the hip."

.

"That's not true!" Evergreen demanded. "I was with them when we went to join Laxus' side in the war."

.

Levy and Neirah gasped uncertainly. "But you don't seem much different from the Evergreen back home?" Neirah staggered out weakly.

.

"We actually didn't get to spend much time around him, Juvia wouldn't allow it."

.

"Juvia?!" Levy exclaimed uncertainly. "She sided with Laxus?!"

.

"More than sided with!" Evergreen demanded. "After Neirah killed Gray, she lost her mind!"

.

"Shra'celia…" Neirah murmured softly to herself, tracing the glowing characters of the enchantment with her finger. Her eyes widened in realisation. "Levy, the people affected by this are people who have lost ones they loved! The more love they had for a person, the stronger they react!"

.

"So, when the future you thought you lost Laxus, you were affected."

.

"And then as the fighting got out of control, more and more people followed, siding with the lesser evil. That's why Gajeel was able to get close enough to the future Levy in order to incapacitate her! The spell's effect on her must have weakened when she saw the love she'd lost!" Neirah concluded. "Laxus! Try to get Freed's attention! Levy and I could use his help!"

.

"No need," Laxus rumbled softly. "He's right here."

.

Freed took a step back before hitting his knees in the debris scattered among the port. "It can't be…"

.

"Whoa, Laxus buddy, is that really you?" Bickslow offered hopefully. "Like the normal you. Not the freaky cave-dwelling version."

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"Y'know, if I get asked one more time if I'm me, I think I'm gonna catch crazy too." He smiled lightly as Freed and Bickslow's delighted expression lit up with the comforting sight.

.

"Freed, down here!" Levy exclaimed hurriedly.

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"Wait, Levy?" Freed murmured suspiciously.

.

"There's two of em'," Gajeel informed as he flopped the other unconscious girl down on the rubble beside them.

.

"Well, things just got freaky real fast," Bickslow observed dimly. He stared back at Gajeel's ghost with a sceptical expression.

.

"We can explain later!" Levy interrupted. "Right now, I need to drop this enchantment so that we can get out of here."

.

Freed took a deep breath before examining the enchantment with the girls. After a moment, he smiled confidently and laid his finger down to show Levy where to start writing. "Excellent. Just follow my lead!"