Somehow when I was editing through old chapters, chapter 7 for scorched wedding cakes ended up here instead of the chapter for Tenrou. I am so sorry to those of you who were confused by that. Here is the correct chapter and I double checked the rest of the story to make sure that didn't happen again. Thank you for your patience.
Laxus woke with a start. His body was drenched in sweat, and his breath came in fast, uncomfortable pants. His head was in Mira's lap and she gently stroked his hair, making shushing noises and reassuring him that everything was okay. For a moment he allowed himself sink into her, letting her comforting scent wash over him, the sound of her voice humming through him and calming the beat of his heart; but then the memory of the dream returned.
It was the same dream that had woke him early the day before. That village boy's look of shock as the blood poured from his chest, the cries of the women and children as Laxus' bullets found them, the dead men strewn about the temple, Porla's rotting corpse. They chased him, swirling around him like a tempest of his guilt, battering his body and tearing apart his soul. All the while, a woman's voice rang out "To be free of your sins, what would you give?" He sat up quickly, pushing Mira away and jumping to his feet.
It was still dark out, and the others lay sleeping round the fire. He could tell the sun was just about to cut through the horizon, the birds were awake and starting to chirp. Mira slowly rose to her feet. Her face was etched with concern when she placed a hand on his arm and looked up at him, "Are you okay?"
He scowled at her and shook away her touch, "Stop it Mira, I'm fine. I'm not a child." This response only seemed to sadden her and that made him furious, he didn't need any pity. He turned to walk away towards the woods, "I'll be back, I just need to clear my head."
Laxus walked until he could no longer see their camp through the trees. He took a seat on the ground, up against one of the larger trunks, and focused on calming his emotions. Being here was rapidly becoming exhausting. The constant effort to control his senses, the threat of monsters around every corner, this new found power that he still couldn't control, and worst of all, the kind, silver-haired woman who kept treating him like someone to be saved. If she knew the thoughts that had plagued him yesterday, she wouldn't be coming anywhere near him.
If this was his world, he would have been gone yesterday. Leaving was always his way of dealing with problems he couldn't punch, but here he had nowhere to go. He was trapped by circumstance, and he wanted to kick and thrash at his cage. He clenched his fists and breathed heavily, his body shaking with rage. Sparks popped from the pores where his muscles flexed, capturing his attention and awe. He stood slowly, keeping his knuckles alight, then began engaging the muscles in his arms and back. As a bright halo of electric current formed around his body, he laughed in excited disbelief. Laxus turned back to the tree he had been leaning on and punched it, watching in delight as the lightning shot through it, exploding the base, and causing the massive tree to tumble over sideways.
Bixlow and Freed came running up to him, both looking ready to fight. When they found just Laxus, bent over in hysterical laughter, Bixlow scratched his head, and Freed pulled his hand away from his sword.
Bixlow walked over to the tree examining the base, "Blew the damn top off didn't you?"
Freed crossed his arms, "You scared us half to death Laxus, next time you plan on training let us know."
Laxus ignored him and stood. He yelled to the heavens, and raised to his hands to the sky. It felt like he was pulling the very energy from the clouds as jagged lines of light flowed into him. He released the energy through his arms, taking down small tree after small tree, then roared a massive river of lightning, blowing a path the width of a semi through the trees. He laughed again, "Did you see that!"
Bixlow stared, mouth agape, "Holy shit."
Freed smiled in awe and nodded, "It would appear that you have finally started to get a hold on harnessing your element. Truly remarkable."
Evergreen appeared now, stumbling through the trees and rubbing her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me. Do you know what time it is? The sun isn't even all the way up yet!"
"Who cares about the sun," Laxus said blowing by her, back in the direction of camp. "We've got miles to go, it's time we were on our way." Feeling like himself for the first time since landing in that ocean, Laxus fell into a role he had played many times before. Just like the fire-teams he had led in his past, the three wizards followed him back without one word of complaint.
Erza sat on the fountain at the town square, waiting for Gray to arrive. She had barely slept the evening prior, her rest was plagued with dreams of Jellal, ones that made her blush and feel ashamed. What was her mind doing to her? Erza was disgusted with herself, her lover dead, the world about to end, and she was having wet dreams about the eccentric, rich man who she believed to be the very villain causing all the trouble. She wouldn't be able to look the man in the eye for months.
She cursed and kicked a stone away, thinking the day would have been better spent training. Erza had a lot of pent up frustration to take out on the wooden man behind her house. She wanted to punch and kick until she could no longer hold her fists up. She hoped that cutting her way through the jungle today would give her the release she desperately needed.
Erza lifted her head and saw Gray approaching her, next to him the hulking form of Elfman. Finally she would be able to get this day started and push these treacherous thoughts aside. It was amusing to notice the contrast between the two, Elfman was just so massive while Gray was so small and svelte. She knew Gray's size was deceptive, he was one of the most powerful wizards she knew, if it came to a fight with Elfman, Gray would certainly be the victor. Maybe her partner would be willing to spar later, that would be even more satisfying than fighting a piece of wood.
Gray smiled when he came to a stop in front of her, "So the big guy here has something to say."
Elfman grimaced and rubbed his hands together. "I might know where the altar is . . ."
Erza stood up straight, her eyes wide. "That's excellent news! How do you know this?"
Elfman rubbed the back of his head and looked over at the fountain. "Well you know, playing with my sisters as kids. I think we stumbled across it a time or two."
Erza frowned, he looked like he was lying, but why? What motivation could he have? She would have to revisit it later, first priority was to find the altar. "Do you think you remember the way?"
He looked her straight in the eyes this time, his face filled with sadness. "Yes."
Mira didn't feel like talking as the group broke for lunch. Really, she hadn't said much of a word all morning, but no one in their party noticed. Somehow Laxus had taken her group of misfit boarders and turned them into a team. It was strange to see them joking and enjoying each other's company. Even now, Evergreen, of all people, was sharing sweets she had purchased this morning from town. Mira felt slightly like an intruder on their little party.
Laxus was not okay. Finally starting to come down from the high of tearing apart the woods this morning, he seemed quieter and more introspective. He had been avoiding her since this morning, it was so subtle she almost didn't notice, but he was being very careful to put the rest of the group between them. This morning when she had woken to the sound of his thrashing and sobbing in his sleep, it would have been completely against her instincts to leave him there on his own. She could recognize someone haunted by their own demons, it was something she and her brother were all to familiar with. Had she been wrong to interfere?
All of a sudden he tensed, but didn't look up, still tracing in the dirt with a stick. "Don't look or act weird, but we're being surrounded."
The group froze. Mira began slowly packing up her belongings, "How many Laxus?"
Laxus drew a circle in the sand, putting an x in the middle. "This is us." He closed his eyes a stretched his neck, then began drawing smaller x's around the circle. "One here, and some here and two here . . . Let's see six total I think."
"How irritating, I was just about finished preparing lunch," Freed grumbled.
"I guess it'll have to wait. Bixlow and Evergreen take the two guys coming from the North side, Freed you and I can take the guys coming at us from the East and keep an eye on this idiot slightly south of them."
Mira frowned, "And what about me?"
He gave her an irritated glance. "Try and stay in the middle, I don't want to have to worry about you."
Mira stood with her hands on her hips, "Worry about me? Excuse me?"
Freed began defending her, "Really Laxus, I believe you would be surprised . . ."
Laxus stood and huffed in frustration, "No, you are the person who has to make it to Natsu, Mira. Don't argue with me, just stay out of the way."
"Do you think I'm some kind of weakling?" Mira exclaimed. "How dare you treat me like some child! You are the one who has to get back to Tenrou in the first place, maybe we should all place you in the middle like some fragile egg."
Laxus walked until he stood over her, he spoke in a low angry tone, "You have got to be kidding me Mira. Is this really the time for this? Just stay where I know you are safe!"
Mira narrowed her eyes, just as she was about to lay into him, he shoved her aside and stepped in front of her. "Looks like we really don't have time." Three men appeared out of the trees, heavily armed and ready to fight.
"Leave your belongings and we might consider letting you go," said one of the intruders, pulling a wicked looking knife from his belt.
Laxus' mouth twisted into a cocky grin, "Maybe you guys should fuck off instead, and we might consider letting you go." The fists by his sides began to spark and glow. Freed drew his sword, and Bixlow and Evergreen turned to intercept the two coming out of the woods to the north.
Mira watched the brief scuffle with a frown. It was clear that they had the bandits in hand. Laxus might be taking a little too much of his frustrations out on them, she was pretty sure one man had multiple broken ribs and the other would have trouble using his right arm in the future. Still she wished she could help. Then, she was suddenly reminded of the last man, when he came running up behind her.
There was a moment when she caught Laxus' eye, his look of panic irritated her. What did he take her for? Maintaining eye contact with Laxus, she grabbed the man by the arm, flinging him forward, satisfied when she heard his grunt of pain when the shoulder dislocated. She then lifting her leg high and brought it down hard on the man's head, knocking him unconscious. Mira dropped the man in the dirt and dusted off her hands.
"I'm a Strauss, I can take care of myself," she spat, then turned to go finish packing her stuff.
After two hours of hacking through the woods, Gray was tired and starting to worry that maybe Elfman didn't really know where he was going. The jungle on the island was extremely unwelcoming terrain, the ground beneath their feet was wet and clung to their feet, the underbrush was full of burrs and nettles, it was hot, the air was full of biting bugs, and there were a myriad poisonous snakes and amphibians. The inhabited half of the island was beautiful, Gray never regretted moving there for a moment, but he wouldn't shed a tear if this jungle burned to the ground.
"You are sure it's up ahead?" asked Erza, clearly as concerned as Gray was.
Elfman paused and scratched his head. "I'm pretty sure it's just up ahead. Although I would have thought we would have found it by now." Gray had to work hard to hold in a groan.
Erza smiled and gave Elfman a reassuring pat. "Very good, then we should find it shortly." She proceeded to effortlessly tear apart the leaves and vines blocking their path.
Gray didn't know how the woman wasn't tired yet, she wasn't human. He was barely having to do anything at the back of their party, and he was already exhausted from fighting sinking and constantly disentangling his pants from things. He had lost his coat and shirt over an hour ago, he hoped he would be able to find them on the way back.
"Erza, how much longer do you wanna go like this?" Gray asked, smacking a mosquito that had landed on his neck. "We can't keep up this pace all day."
"Elfman said it should be nearby, don't give up when victory is so near my friend!" Erza smiled and her hacking increased in speed. The woman was nuts.
Gray watched the tree canopy above for a moment, stretching his arms over his head. He should have been watching his feet, his toe hit something hard and he feel forward, hitting his knee hard on what felt like rock. "Damnit!" he hissed, rocking onto his back and pulling his leg to his chest.
Elfman laughed, "Not very manly of you Gray. Should be watching where you are going."
"You should be watching who you are teasing!" growled Gray.
"Are you alright Gray?" Erza gave him a concerned look and came over to check on his knee, but was distracted by the stone he had tripped over. "Oh my goodness, look at this! These look like the language of the prophesy!" She excitedly pulled at the thick vines to the right of the trail and laughed. "Well Gray, it looks like your clumsiness has saved the day! You found our altar!"
Gray stood slowly, looking over the thick, gnarly vines that covered the forest area in front of him. "You've gotta be kidding me. It's under all of that!" He turned to Elfman. "Hey man, how long ago were you here? Was it this overgrown then?"
Elfman looked confused. "It hasn't been that long, and no, it was quite clear at the time." He walked forward cautiously and pulled at one of the larger, rope-like plants. When it didn't budge, he pulled harder and harder, veins began bulging from his forehead and sweat pouring from his brow. When it finally gave, only a small section came loose. He dropped it, panting and wiping his face, "We're going to need some help . . . .and some tools."
Erza was already hoping back towards town, "Make sure to mark the trail! We must get started clearing this area as soon as possible! Hurry, let's go tell the rest of the town!"
Gray sighed and looked up at Elfman, who frowned back down at him. It was going to a long few days.
The next morning Laxus awoke with a start from his nightmare again. This time there was no one there to soothe him, he was alone. He panted and tried to get his head straight, taking in his surroundings. Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen still lay asleep, the sky was still dark above. Mira was nowhere to be found.
He rubbed his face and searched around the camp. He could smell her, but he couldn't see her. Laxus wondered if he should leave her be. She was pretty pissed at him yesterday, first for his behavior in the morning, and then for treating her like a dead-weight. He clenched his jaw, that had been a mistake. Watching her kick that guy in the face was one of the most unexpected and beautiful things he had ever seen in his life. He pulled himself to his feet with a groan. Laxus had to go find her, he couldn't deal with her ignoring him for the rest of the journey. They wouldn't reach Magnolia until some time the next day and who knew what was in store after that.
Laxus crept quietly in her direction. He found her deep in the woods, sitting with her legs folded, eyes closed in meditation. He furrowed his brow, trapped in indecision about whether or not to disturb her.
"What do you need Laxus?" she asked coldly.
"You were gone when I woke up, I just came to see what you were up to," Laxus said.
Mira breathed deeply out her nose, "I'm perfectly safe, you don't have to keep tabs on me. I just couldn't stand the sounds of your pain anymore."
Laxus felt uncomfortable. Her directness was unexpected and robbed him of his voice.
"You didn't wake me, don't worry. I'm just an early riser." Mira stood and turned to him. "I find I don't need a whole lot of sleep these days."
She started to walk past him and he caught her shoulder, "Mira . . ."
Mira gave him an obstinate look when she lifted her eyes to his, "What do you want?"
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I'm . . .I'm sorry for underestimating you."
His rare apology seemed to have little affect on her. She just narrowed her eyes, "If you are going to survive here Laxus, you should start learning that things aren't always what they seem to be. You of all people need to learn to see with more than just your eyes."
Laxus swallowed deeply and let her leave. As usual, she was right.
Mira was so relieved when they reached Magnolia. This trip was really wearing on her. She missed home so bad, and Laxus' cries in the morning were breaking her heart. She was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed, hopefully as far away from him as she could get. She had been very close to reaching out to him again this morning and she was still mad at him.
They split up to canvas the city, and Mira had offered to go by herself. Laxus started to protest, but one look of warning and he shut his mouth. Mira was really enjoying her time alone, everyone in Magnolia was so friendly! Unfortunately most of them were not familiar with a fire breathing wizard. It wasn't until nearly the end of the day, when she found a little old woman who sold sweet cakes from a cart on one of the rougher sides of town, that Mira finally got an answer.
"Oh yes," the woman said with a smile, "I know that young man, he's my biggest customer!"
"Wonderful!" Mira clapped her hands. "Where can we find him?"
"If you go just around the corner, you'll find the red brick building where he runs his forge. There isn't a sign on the door, but you can usually see smoke billowing out the chimney when he's there. Very secretive that one, and selective of his customers. He might not want to help you," the woman frowned.
"That's okay, I need to ask anyway," Mira said, turning in the direction the lady had given.
"Oh, young lady," the woman called.
Mira turned back, "Yes?"
"You won't be able to find him right now, I'm sure he's closed up for the day. Unfortunately, I can't tell you where he lives either, you won't find a single person in all of Magnolia who knows that. You will just have to come back. He's usually there by the middle of the day."
Mira slumped in defeat but gave the woman a smile, "Well thank you, I suppose it will have to wait until tomorrow." She looked down at the woman's wares, "Maybe could you give me five of those then? They look quite delicious."
The woman winked, "I'll even throw in an extra. A little food bribery seems to go a long way with that young man."
After a lot of arguing, the group had decided that Mira shouldn't go by herself and that Laxus should accompany her. They didn't want to all go and make Natsu feel ambushed, but they also wanted to make sure Mira was safe. Who knows what kind of man Natsu had become, especially if he operated a private shop on the bad side of town. Mira was obviously not pleased, but had to acquiesce.
Laxus ducked into the small shop after her and was surprised to see Natsu was such a small guy and had faded pink hair. This was the man they were all so worked up about? Natsu turned to regard them and his eyes caught Mira's face. There was no happiness in the recognition, just a muted, rumbling rage. Laxus was reminded of how Mira had warned him about seeing with more than his eyes.
"What the hell are you doing here Mira?" Natsu growled. He completely ignored Laxus' presence and turned back to the piece of metal he was pounding into a blade-like shape.
"That's not a very nice hello Natsu," chastised Mira.
"Well it's not very nice of you to take me by surprise like this Mira. I told you I didn't want to see any of you guys again." Natsu spat on the ground beside him.
Out from the back appeared what looked like a small blue cat walking on his hind legs. He held in his tiny hands a needle and a piece of leather. "Natsu, I can't seem to get this stitch."
Natsu set down his work and went to help. "Is that right? Let me see what your doing there little buddy."
Laxus almost fell back in surprise, exclaiming "What the hell is that?"
Natsu turned to him with a confused grin. "Are you serious? You've never seen an exceed before?" He turned to Mira, sudden realization dawning in his eyes. "Now I get it, he's like I was, isn't he? Is that why you're here Mira?"
"Well, sort of, at least it's part of it . . ." Mira began.
Natsu chuckled, "Wow did I look like that big of an idiot too? That's hilarious."
Laxus narrowed his eyes, "Watch who you're calling an idiot, freak."
Natsu just gave him a cockeyed grin and walked over into Laxus' personal space. "What? You gonna fight me? I have a pretty good idea of what kind of work you did back in our world, but I can promise you I am nothing like what you've ever seen before. Don't fuck with me."
He turned and went back to place the exceed gently on a chair. Then he pointed down at the piece of leather. "You just accidentally knotted the thread here Happy, don't worry, just pull it out and start over. We can always get more thread."
Happy pouted and began tugging at his work, pulling it apart, "I don't think this is worth that fish you promised me."
"Natsu, we really need you," Mira began.
He gave her a tired look, "For what Mira? What the hell could you possibly need from me?"
"There is a darkness spreading on the island Natsu, people are dying . . ."
He made a sound of disgust and walked back to the anvil he was working at earlier. "Not my problem."
"Cana had a prophesy and it said you are one of the four people we need to save everyone," Mira pleaded.
Natsu gave a humorless laugh. "I'm sure she did. Did it list me by name? Did she drink a lot before ranting that nonsense? Of course she did, when is she not completely wasted."
Mira's face was turning bright red, she clenched her fists. "Natsu! Please don't blow this off! We really need you!"
Natsu sighed and was about to respond when there was the sound of a person clearing their throat. A curvaceous, blonde woman stood in the doorway, "Natsu, I hope you have what I need today, I really . . ."
"Fuck off Luigi," Natsu said, not bothering to look up from the piece of metal he returned to furiously banging.
The blonde woman stomped her foot and clenched her fists. "How many times do I have to tell you? My name is not Luigi!"
Natsu turned and gave her a look of annoyance. "What does it matter? I don't have the wheel ready for your dad's stupid carriage. So. Fuck. Off. Get the hell out of here," he pointed out the door.
The blonde's face turned bright red, "This is no way to run a business you know! I'm going to tell my father how you're speaking to me . . ."
"And he's not going to give a shit, because I'm the best." He turned back to his project and tssked at how it was losing heat. He blew fire over it then began hammering again. The blonde stood there with her arms folded, furiously tapping her foot. She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't decide what. Finally Natsu sighed, "Come back tomorrow, I'll have the wheel ready then. But get out of here, I don't want to see your fat face."
The girl narrowed her eyes but said nothing. She turned heel with a humpf and left the way she came. Mira looked ready to throttle Natsu. "That was not nice Natsu!"
Natsu looked incredulous. "Not nice? Mira, I don't care about being nice! I'm not trying to make friends, isn't that right Happy?"
The exceed in the corner looked up from his piece of leather and cheered "Aye sir!" then went back to his stitching.
"Lucy is so annoying! If I let her stay here she would all be like," Natsu heightened the tone of his voice, "blah blah blah. She never shuts up!" He hit the piece of metal even harder, "I don't need that kind of shit in my life."
"At least she's got nice tits and a great ass," Laxus added with a smirk, looking in the direction the blonde had left. When he glanced back, Natsu's face was so tense with anger that he could practically see steam coming out of the man's ears.
Natsu let go of the piece he was working on and dropped the hammer on the floor. He stomped over and put his finger in Laxus' face. "You don't talk about Lucy, you don't even look at her. I don't know who the hell you are, or why the hell sweet Mira would let you anywhere near her, and I don't care. You even think about touching Lucy, I will burn your face so bad that melted cheese will be handsomer than you. You got that?" Laxus just shrugged and continued to watch the fiery little man. Natsu took it as an answer and turned to pick up his hammer, mumbling, "fucking prick."
Laxus' smirk grew into a full grin, he knew exactly how to play this one now. Mira looked horrified and dismayed, this was obviously not the man she knew back in Tenrou, 'the good man'. Laxus wasn't surprised in the least though, he had seen it time and time again, going through real trauma changed a person. It could steamroll you in a way that made you no longer recognizable to the people who had loved you most. No matter, they would have their fire, and wasting time here was not the way to get it. "I think he's given us his answer Mira, we should get going," Laxus said.
Mira looked up at him shocked, "But . . .we . . ."
"Yea Mira, you should go. Listen to that bastard piece of muscle you brought with you. I'm not going back to Tenrou and you can't make me." Natsu didn't even bother to look her in the eye. He just wiped some sweat from his brow and went back to hammering.
Laxus couldn't help but feel pity for Mira, he could tell she was extremely upset about the change in her friend. Maybe in some screwed up way she felt responsible. He wasn't one to feel sorry for anyone but there was something in her eyes that got to him. This woman was going to be the death of him.
He walked over to her and gently guided her to the door by the small of her back, "Don't worry Mira, I got this. Let's get back to the inn," he said quietly.
She looked up at him as if trying to read his eyes. Something she saw there relaxed her, but it just placed an extra weight on his shoulders that he didn't want. "Okay Laxus, let's go back," she said with a smile, putting her trust in him. As if he had asked for it.
