Lost and Found
Chapter 6
"She was here," Laxus whispered as Freed only stood behind him, in the doorway to the bedroom. "I can smell her all over this place."
"What is it?"
"Must have been a bedroom. She was here recently." Laxus glanced around. "Not anymore though. Come on."
"Where to now?"
He shook his head. "The scent is going cold. I don't… Maybe there's a shed or something on the property? I don't-"
"So the fun has finally arrived, huh?"
Freed and Laxus both glanced up at the sound of another person, coming from the doorway. When he saw a man there, dressed in silver armor, Laxus only growled.
"I don't have time for shit," he grumbled as he turned and walked towards the man. Without giving it much thought, his arm became entangled in lightning, his canines becoming more pronounced. "I don't have time for you. I don't have time for whatever stupid magic you use or whatever stupid lesson this is going to teach me. I have to go get to my kids."
The man tried to dodge him, but Laxus hand just closed around the other man's neck. Lifting him straight up, Laxus glared at him.
"You're gonna take me to my damn girls. Both of them. Now. And then you're going to take me to my father and you're going to watch as I rip the damn entrails from your little leader and spread them across the floor. And then, just because I have that sorta kink, you're gonna lick up all the blood from the floor as I watch. So talk. Else I'll go ahead and pull yours out while I'm at it. Trust me. I'm pretty wild today."
He had to slacken his grip some then, so the man could speak.
"Reequip," the man whispered, one of his hands, which was about level with Laxus abdomen, suddenly had a sword with it. He was trying to skewer Laxus. Trying to skewer a dragon. Ha.
"You think your damn weapons have an affect on me?" Laxus threw him then, back out the doorway to where he hit the wall out there in the hallway. "Damn it, just for that, you lose."
"L-Laxus, I can take him," Freed spoke up. "And you can go find the girls. I-"
But it was too late. The whole fucking day, since he woke up that morning to find that some letters had come in about Natsu, once again, destroying a town a week earlier, to Haven being a brat, to him losing both of them and now…now this? Now he was having to play games with what? Some of his father's trainees?
It was laughable.
He was going to kill somebody.
"Did you touch them? Huh? Were you near them?"
The guy was starting to get up, but Laxus didn't want that. He didn't even need magic then. He was going to beat the guy to death with brute force. He didn't still train for nothing.
Laxus kicked him in the side when he tried to get him. This seemed to shock the guy, but just as quickly, Laxus was stomping on him, taking his frustrations out on him.
"How could you fucking do that? She was crying! And you fucking let her cry? You're fucking scum. I'm going to fucking kill you. I'm going to fucking kill all of you. I'm-"
"Laxus!'
His breath was coming out in pants then, foot still poised then to come down on the guy's head. He was going to crush his skull in. He'd crush all of their skulls. And then, drenched in their blood, he'd go to Ivan and let him see that it didn't matter who he got, who he recruited. Laxus would always reign supreme.
"Go away, Mira," he ordered, his voice rough. "The girls aren't here. I'm going to find them."
"That's not finding them!" She had appeared at the end of the hallway, apparently coming up short on her end of the search as well, hands on her hips as she glared at him. Natsu was next to her, staring in shock at Laxus. "And come on. Wendy says that Locke told her Ivan took them down a tunnel or something. We have to look for it."
He shook his head, still glaring down at the guy. "I'm going to kill them."
"And what? Let Ivan get further with the girls? Now come on."
Freed came closer then, laying his hand on Laxus' shoulder. "I think we should go. He is of no use to us."
He let his foot fall then, but not on the man. Still, Laxus spit on the wounded man before turning.
A damn reequip mage and one good with letter magic? What was Ivan trying to do? Mimic Laxus' best fighters? He sure hoped not because the last thing he wanted at the moment was to deal with a bunch of slayers.
"You big idiot. We could have asked him where the tunnel was. But now you've knocked him unconscious.
Or worse. What if Ivan had demons?
Laxus just grunted as Mirajane batted at his arm. "A tunnel, you say?"
"Yeah." Natsu was clearly pumped and Laxus could smell the scent of a woman on him. They must have run into trouble too, finally giving Natsu his chance at a battle. "She went to look for it, but Mira wanted to come find you."
"With good reason, apparently," Mira said as she reached out to touch Laxus arm. He allowed that because, well, her touch was always welcome, but he wouldn't look at her. "Laxus-"
"I just want my daughters. I'm tired of chasing people that don't get that kids are off-limits. They just are! And these idiots think that it's a game. That it's all some sort of sick game. Marin's going to have nightmares about this, Mirajane. For weeks. And Haven… I just want my daughters. They need me."
"I know."
"Then let's go find this tunnel, huh?" Natsu banged his fists together. "I took down an enemy of my own pretty easily. Ivan don't keep too good fighters around 'im, huh?"
"You're five seconds away from being in the same boat, Salamander," Laxus grumbled before breaking away from his wife to walk faster. "Come on. Where is the Redfox kid then? He leave?"
"I don't know," Mira told him softly. "Wendy didn't say. I assume so though."
Grunt. Then, "We didn't see them leave the house, so the tunnel must be around here somewhere. And I can smell both kids' scents this way. Come on."
Freed was quick to match pace with him as Mirajane only bowed her head, following. Natsu, who was next to her, gently bumped his elbow against her.
"We got this," he told her with a grin, not liking to see one of his longest friends so upset. "I mean, how far could they have gotten anyhow? We'll track 'em down in no time. And you've seen the mess of these guys left behind that we've made. Ivan don't stand a chance!"
Happy, who was above him, only rang out his usual agreement of, "Aye, sir!"
But Mira couldn't smile. Not then. She didn't think that she'd be able to again until her kids were safely back in her grasp.
"Save your rage, Laxus," Freed told him softly as the man only got his blank face back. "You need not use any of it. I will-"
"You're not even supposed to be here," Laxus grumbled angrily. "When we get to Ivan, he's mine. And that's all I give a damn about."
They ran back into Gajeel not soon after that.
"Noses take us to the same place, or what?" Black Steel joked as Laxus only glanced around the basement.
"Oh, Locke!" Mirajane was down there then too and immediately rushed forwards, over to the child. He only frowned as she leaned down to look at him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"You need to go home," she told him with a sigh. "If you don't want to go, Gajeel, let Wendy and Carla take him back. Or-"
"Trust me," Gajeel grumbled as Laxus stared at the bookcase suspiciously. It smelled too much like his girls for his taste. "It's him that wants to stay. Not me."
"I'm gonna go get the girls too," he said as Mirajane only gave him a slight smile.
"I'm sorry, Locke, but- Laxus!"
He only shoved the bookcase to the side, narrowly missing hitting Happy, who had been flying over there.
"Watch it," Natsu complained, glaring at him. "I- Whoa."
Laxus only grunted, staring at the hole in the wall he'd unearthed. "Passageway. No lights. Salamander-"
Without finishing the command, Natsu's hands became ablaze. "Already on it."
"Wow, guys!"
No looked up as Wendy came down the stairs as well, Carla following.
"You found it," she exclaimed. "I-"
"You. Here." Laxus moved to grab Natsu then, rather roughly by the shoulders, before dragging him along. "You're going to light the way. Don't care if your brat comes or not, Gajeel, but whoever's coming, comes now. I ain't got time for anymore shit."
Snorting, Gajeel only said, "Who was giving you any?"
Lily, who was floating in the air near Locke, looked to Mirajane. "He will be fine. And he wishes to see this through. He has to grow up eventually."
Still, she couldn't imagine Levy rightly liking the idea. But she had her own children to worry about in that moment. And with all those wizards around, she highly doubted any harm would come to the little boy.
Or at least she hoped.
"You didn't think that we'd let you leave that easily, did you?"
Just like that, Wendy was being shoved down the stairs as two people appeared in the doorway to the basement. A rather tall man, dark hair covering most his face, dark glasses keeping the rest hidden, while a blonde woman stood at his side, a cocky little grin on her face.
Laxus hardly glanced back. "Take 'em, guys. You want to prove yourself, Locke? Then here's your chance. Me, the Salamander, and the demon are more than fine by ourselves. Come on, Mira."
"Me too," Happy complained as he fluttered after them, down the dark tunnel. Mirajane glanced at the men on the stairs before bowing her head.
"Be careful," she warned all the others, chasing after her husband, hardly hearing the man as he called out his name.
She heard the woman though. Hikin or something.
"Ain't we always?" Gajeel sneered as Wendy only got to her feet, Carla at her side in moments.
"No," Mira whispered to herself, knowing from the look that had been on Freed's face that he was hurt his idol had left him to deal with the enemies. "But then, we wouldn't be Fairy Tail if we were."
Her bed smelled weird.
That's the first thing Haven thought as she awoke. It didn't smell like hers. It smelled…well…clean. She had a habit of only changing her sheets when Mirajane made her and, the older she got, the less frequently that was, if only because her mother was trying to make her responsible or something silly like that.
Bleh.
Oh, and her head hurt. That was her next thought. It hurt a lot, actually. And her eyes felt droopy.
What had happened?
When she finally forced them open, she was amazed to find that she wasn't at home at all. She was in a completely different room. One she didn't know.
Was she dreaming?
"Marin?" she whispered. There wasn't even a bed for her.
Where was she?
Haven's body felt too weak to get up in that moment, so she only laid there, on her back, staring around the room.
The walls were painted a deep purple color, while the desk and the bookcase in the room were some sort of dark wood. Then the bed sheets were pink, which she usually hated, but at the moment she was more concerned with where she was.
Then something started to come back to her.
"Grandpa," she whispered, sitting up slowly. Her feet weren't even chained anymore!
Where had he taken her? 'cause it certainly wasn't the room she had been in before. It was bigger and, as she found out when she moved to get out of the bed, actually had carpet. Soft, comfy carpet.
Standing slowly, she was shocked to find that she had no chains anywhere. Her stomach did hurt a little though and, upon pulling up her shirt, she found a big bruise from where he had kicked her.
Laxus and Mom wouldn't like that.
"Oh," was all Haven said when she went over to the tiny window in the room. That was why she wasn't chained. They had to be at least three stories up.
But she could still use her magic!
Only…on what?
Going over to the door in the room, she wasn't shocked to find it locked.
Huh.
Did she even want out anyhow? The old man had said he was giving her a dragon lacrima, right? So maybe she should just sit back and wait it out.
What was the worst that could happen?
He had left an inkwell and quill out on the desk, along with paper. Bleh. No. She didn't like writing. It sucked.
And the bookcase offered no reprieve either. Just a bunch of magic books. You didn't get better at magic by reading. You got better by doing!
There was a chest at the end of the bed which, upon opening, she found housed a few toys. A couple blocks, a little toy car, and a stuffed animal.
Bleh.
What did he think she was? A baby?
Shutting the chest, she headed back over to the door. She wasn't sure what to say, but eventually find herself calling out then.
"Hey," she yelled, unsure if anyone was even there to hear her. "I'm awake! And I'd really like my lacrima now! And to see Marin. And Locke and Navi. Then to go home. And I have to go to the bathroom! Grandpa?"
Nothing.
Sigh.
Defeated, she went back to glance out the window again. It was dark out and she couldn't make anything out. When she tried to lift the window, she found that it wouldn't budge.
She was stuck.
Turning then, she pulled a random magic book off the shelf before going back over to th bed. Why had they changed places? Was this his house?
She was busy looking at all the different spells and such that were in the book when suddenly, the door to her room opened.
Haven only stared though as Ivan entered, not moving in the slightest.
"I see you are adjusting well."
"Where are we?" she said after a moment. "And where's Marin? How far are we from Magnolia? 'cause I gotta go home eventually. I can't-"
"There is no going home child," he told her, his tone a bit harsh. "This is your home."
She looked back at her book then. "Why did we leave?"
"Your father was close."
"So? He'll just come here too."
Ivan grunted. Slowly, he went to pull the chair from the desk in the room over to her bed.
"Do you like your room?"
"There's no toys."
"I put-"
"Those are for babies. I'm not a baby."
He blinked. Then, looking off, he said, "I have been planning this for quite some time. Since you were born, I always planned to some how come into possession of you."
"Like how Gramps raised Laxus?"
That elicited a growl from the man. "Makarov did not raise Laxus. He turned him against me! He stole him and then-"
"You stole me," she pointed out. "And hey, Grandpa, when am I getting my lacrima?"
"In due time. You-"
"I'm startin' to think that you don't even have it," she grumbled. "That you just took me so that I could come stay with you. And, well, you could've just asked if you wanted someone to spend the night with you. I wouldn't have been mean about it. Although, you really need to get some more toys, I-"
"Would you shut up?" He rose to his feet then, reaching out to grab her by the arm, shaking her roughly. "You talk to much! You have no respect, you little brat! Do you even know what I am doing for you? What I could have done for your father? You all call me mad, claim that I'm the one that's losing his mind! I-"
"You're hurting me!" Haven jerked away from him. "And I ain't never said that you were crazy. I don't even know you. You're the one that ain't ever talked to me. You don't even care about me or have even ever talked to me. But I'm suppose to know you? And care about you? Respect you? You don't make any sense! And if you keep being mean, when Laxus gets here, I'm going to tell him that you're mean. And then Marin and I won't ever come back. And if I find out that you're being mean to her like this too, I'm going to… I don't care about that lacrima! Don't you hurt my sister!"
She thought that he was going to strike her then. He even had his hand poised to do so. But this time she wasn't going to take it lying down!
Raising her hand, she called out a spell before, just like that, a bolt of lighting shot from her palm, striking her grandfather in his stomach.
It was the strongest attack she knew. It had taken down some of the bigger kids at time. But Ivan, being as experienced a mage he was, it hardly effected him at all.
Though it did make him feel one thing.
Rage washing away, he was quickly filled with some sort of…giddiness. And when he grinned after her attack, Haven only frowned. Just like that though, he was leaning over the bed, so that his head was right next to her.
Ew. He wasn't going to kiss her head or something, was he? Laxus used to do that when she was little and she hated it. Yuck.
But he only reached out then, taking both her cheeks in his hands as he stared at her.
"You," he whispered, "are so much like your grandmother. It's… How could Laxus keep you from me?"
Haven turned away, angry at him still. "I don't have a grandmother."
Then again, she hadn't had a grandpa since a few minutes ago, so many she should just be open to all sorts of family members. Although, considering Elfman and Bickslow both already had the crazy uncle role filled, she really wasn't looking for anymore of those.
"I want my lacrima. Or my sister. Or father. And until I get either of those three, I'm not going to talk to you anymore. You're mean and make no sense! You're nothing like Gramps."
That apparently wasn't the right thing to say, as Ivan stormed off then, in an huff and everything, slamming the door behind him. Haven tacked that on as a victory though. He hadn't hit her and she'd even delivered a blow to him.
Then she heard the sound of the door locking behind him and only groaned.
When would Laxus be coming? Because she was more than ready to go back home.
Ivan though left with a bad taste in his mouth. The little brat was getting him all worked up. He couldn't let her get under his skin so much. She was just a child. A pawn. One that he was going to be using to his advantage. He was supposed to be cultivating her! Not…
Ugh.
The house they were in was one of his main ones. Off in a secluded woods, he was free to do whatever he wished there. He mostly just plotted. And stewed. Today though, he wasn't sure what to do.
Laxus had to be coming. He'd bought some time, of course, but still.
By no regards was the place a mansion, but the place was rather expansive and Ivan found himself going to the study in the place to think a little.
He had never thought about having a female child. He'd know from the beginning that he would have a son. Or sons, he thought, at the time. And they were all to be skilled in different forms of wizardry. Now left with only a disappointment, he found that the idea of raising a granddaughter to be even more scary.
"What am I thinking?" he reminded himself with a chuckle as he walked around the study, looking at the wall-to-wall bookcases, glancing at the different titles. "I am only keeping her until the time comes to harvest the lacrima from her."
Until then though, he was stuck with a lot to deal with.
Ah, well. He'd just chain her then, to the bed or whatever, until she learned to behave. To submit. Like a good child. And obedient child. She clearly was strong willed.
Well, no more! He would be a strict master and there was no getting around it. She would do whatever he wanted. That was just the way it had to be.
And once he had her broken, maybe he'd give her a little freedom. Just a tad. She had asked for toys.
"If she behaves," he decided as he made it over to his desk finally, moving to fall into his chair. Reaching out, he ran his finger gently over the lightning bolt shaped pendant he kept there, it being attached to a silver chain. He felt more at peace when it was near. "She can have them if she behaves."
He got the urge then to check in with Nullpudding. The tunnel that they traveled together only led so far before it ended, out in the woods. He assumed that it was used as a hidden passageway, so someone could escape the building if under siege.
He had a carriage waiting, one of his subjects that the helm, giving him at Haven more of an escape than Nullpudding. But considering that the other man was just carrying the younger girl, the unimportant one, Ivan didn't see it as much of a problem.
"If you make it to the other building, fine," he'd told the other man when they were parting ways. "Leave the girl there with the others. I have a few stationed there. Then come join me here."
He never rightly showed favoritism towards any of his help. Why should someone like him do so anyhow? He was the greatest mage of all time!
But...he was a good man to have around.
"Of course, Master," had been his reply.
"And if you do not make it there, that is fine as well. Give Laxus a good fight. But not too good. I want to be the one to crush him."
Hours had passed since that moment and, honestly, Ivan was burning to know how far Nullpudding had gotten, if his son had caught him yet. He had a communication lacrima he could check, but…
No. Nullpudding could hold his own. And even if he couldn't, who cared?
Now that Ivan had the girl he wanted, he wasn't letting her go. Not until he was personally done with her. And judging from that weak lightning strike he'd received before, the two of them had a long way to go before that happened.
I've been trying to do two updates a day, one on this story and one on Wedding Wars, but it hasn't been working out, so just this one for today it seems. Sorry guys.