Past, Present, and Future, By my Side

.

.

His steps were rough as he climbed the jagged peaks of the mountain situated on top of their guild, even though all he wanted to do was sleep; for the first time in a week. She seemed pretty adamant about taking him for a stroll, assuring him that it would help cover for their romantic interlude not long before. "I don't know why," he murmured sceptically. "But I'm seeing my life flash before my eyes."

.

Neirah smiled from where she staggered behind him on weak toes, her cloak draped over her naked curves. "This is not where I kill you, Spar-" Her words were stolen by her gentle squeak as she fumbled in her step and started to topple over the rocky face. She was moments from panicking when Laxus reached back and clasped her hand firmly in his.

.

"See? Even the mountain knows better than to let you get away with callin' me that," he teased. He drew her to his side as they continued to climb the mountain together. "I told you, you should have let me carry you." He knew after their bout of lovemaking she would have a hard time walking, and even though she tried, she certainly couldn't keep in a straight line.

.

"Yes," she hummed. "Because that wouldn't have looked suspicious to our guildmates or anything."

.

"They're all asleep and you know it. Stop being so stubborn."

.

She snickered softly to herself and slipped her hood from around her face. "It's ok," she purred. "We're already here."

.

His breathing hitched gruffly as his gaze came to rest on a pool of misting water settled among the mossy peaks of the elevation. "Springs?"

.

"Surprised?" Neirah giggled as she started to descend into the gorge towards the steam rising from one of the three little pools. "Three of 'em, to be exact. And not just any springs, hot ones." She knelt by the side of one of the pools and twisted her fingers in it. "Well, hot-ish," she corrected while snapping the excess water from her fingertips. "It seemed a heck of a lot hotter back when I was a child."

.

Laxus loomed overhead, watching her carefully as she reminisced. "So, the old lizard really raised you here, huh?"

.

Neirah smiled back over her shoulder as she dropped her cloak to the water's edge, her naked body bathed in moonlight as it spilt from the clear night sky. It was certainly hard to tell that not long before the sky was dark and bleak with the presence of a storm. She dipped her toes into the spring and sighed, memories flooding back to her. "He did…" Noticing that his voice had grown distant, she turned and faced him, a playful grin on her lips. "Well? Are you coming?"

.

"If that's an invitation," he instigated.

.

Neirah laughed as her hips swayed with the gentle roll of the water around her submersion. "I didn't bring you here to supervise," she crooned. "I am part water dragon. I doubt I'll drown."

.

He lowered his gaze before shrugging his shirt off his shoulders.

.

"Ooo baby, take it off."

.

He cut his gaze back to hers with her catcalling, growing uncomfortable with the thought of being on exhibition for her. He tossed his balled shirt towards the giddy, giggling nymph and snorted his impatience. "That's not what I was thinking," he assured her swiftly.

.

Neirah delivered his shirt to the rocky ledge and scooted back through the ripples she chased. She sank into the water with a blissful sigh and swirled around in the shallows. "Oh?" She floated around the water, dunking her head back beneath the shimmering ripples to slick her hair back out of her face. It may not have been paradise, but just getting the greasy feeling of sweat and sex off of her skin was an invaluable relief.

.

His pants hit the dirt at his feet before he approached the spring and took a seat on the edge, water warming midway up his shins. He shifted his attention as his little water flower scooted across the spring and laid her arms in his lap.

.

"So? Why so hesitant then?" She crooned, trying not to put too much attention on the breasts she'd smothered his cock with. She reached up and laid a handful of water in his lap, watching it roll over the chiselled lines of his torso. "Or perhaps you preferred to stay dirty?"

.

He looked around them, still amazed that a comfortable oasis like the one they currently sat in existed above their guild hall all along. "I was wonderin' where all the water was coming from in the ceiling down there. Always so damn humid," he acknowledged softly. "Why haven't you told anyone else this is up here?"

.

Neirah hummed gently and turned to sit between his legs, laying her head back against his body. "Can you keep a secret?"

.

He groaned softly and laid his fingers on her shoulders, his overwhelming need to touch her naked flesh sated by the massage he was going to offer her. "That depends," he chided.

.

"If you tell anyone, I'll put you right over the edge of this mountain," she announced in caution.

.

"Then yes."

.

She smiled, closing her eyes and rolling her shoulders as he kneaded them with strong fingers. "This place… this mountain… The reason Kairyn chose to erect a guild here is that he believed it's been blessed by the divine."

.

There was a falter in the pressure Laxus used on her shoulders as he considered her words. "You mean the dragon?"

.

She shook her head. "Only if you truly believe Ryverika was a god like Kairyn did."

.

"You don't sound so sure yourself," he murmured tenderly. He'd never really pried for details of her past no matter how curious he was. It was still a sensitive subject knowing that Ryverika's demise was directly related to his own rebellious actions. "The old lizard raised you. What do you think?"

.

Neirah smiled solemnly, watching the water ripple around her fidgeting fingers. Normally, talking about Ryverika would bring her great joy, but she didn't feel happy when she was asked the question. She was so at peace, held by the man she loved, bathing in familiar waters, it started to make her consider that maybe talking about Ryverika never actually made her happy. Maybe she was finally ready to admit that it did hurt her, to someone she was comfortable enough with to reveal this truth.

.

"I don't think that Ryverika ever wanted to be seen as a god," she whispered delicately. "When he took me in he was so humble, so kind and wise. He didn't seem to hold himself any higher than any other creature in the world and taught me to respect them all in kind. After meeting Igneel and the others back after the fall of the Balam Alliance, well, Ryverika wasn't much different than any of them."

.

Laxus kept a weathered eye on her as she resurfaced the memories, smoothing his thumb over her neck as she swayed it into his palm. If nothing else, his touch seemed to soothe her as she snuggled into it like a frightened pup.

.

"But whether you believe that Ryverika was actually a god, or not, this area remains sacred, protected. It's how I know we're safe here. Safe from Zade, from the Magic Council. They'll never bother us here."

.

Laxus redirected his attention to her with an inquisitive expression on his face. "That's a pretty bold claim to make," he assured her. "How can you be sure?"

.

Neirah narrowly opened her eyes over her contentedly sleepy smile. "Because 'here' doesn't exist." Laxus' fingers stopped moving against her shoulders, forcing her to slap them to get their attention again. "Don't stop," she demanded impishly. "It feels delightful."

.

"You wanna maybe run that by me again?" He encouraged bleakly. "Maybe tell me how we're here if 'here' doesn't exist?"

.

"Don't be so dramatic," she cooed. "It's simple, really, now that I know what Kairyn meant by the ground being blessed. I read it in the journal my mother left me."

.

"Details, woman…" He growled eagerly, tugging on her earlobe until she giggled and shooed him away.

.

"Ryverika may be gone, but his magical footprint still dots the landscape," she assured him tenderly. She rolled her wet fingers over one of his shins. "An ancient protection seal was laid decades ago at the foot of this mountain. Something Ryverika preserved for years to come." She watched the water fall from her fingertips intently, just feeling his body quietly fill with tension as she remained nonchalant. "You can feel it, can't you?" She whispered, rolling her hand over his knee. "The magic surrounding this place? That was why you were hesitant to come closer, wasn't it?"

.

He didn't answer, knowing that she was certain enough that she didn't even need to hear him agree. It was true, he had a keen sense of magic power, something undoubtedly inherited from his grandfather. It wasn't as noticeable at the base of the mountain by their guild, but he knew for sure that something was up as soon as they had finished their climb. But the immense hum of magical energy in the area wasn't what disturbed him. What was, was the fact that he recognised the way the magic felt.

.

He'd recognised it on her.

.

"We're in a rift between times," she assured him gently while ignoring that his gaze lingered on her so warily. "Time doesn't flow here like it does in the rest of the world. One might even suggest that it stands still." She turned and looked up into Laxus' vacant expression, not sure whether it was fear or bemusement that was creasing his brow. "One of Ryverika's greatest talents was the manipulation of time. When I was a child, I had never noticed how long the days were. I never asked how it was possible for him to train me in the arts that took most dragon slayers their entire lives to learn." She turned away from him again and settled back between his legs, looking up into the clear night sky fresh with the damp presence of the rain washing over them about an hour prior. "Ryverika was one of the last living dragons alive who was born as a dragon. He concealed this mountain, lived atop it for centuries; watching, waiting. Not even Acnologia could find him here and if he did, he wouldn't make it past the rift…"

.

"I don't get that…" Laxus almost growled, attracting Neirah's direct attention. "He had the power to end this all before it started. Instead, he wasted away up here all that time and let things get out of control. Zeref, Acnologia, from what I hear he could wipe them off the face of the fucking earth with one attack so why the hell didn't he?"

.

Neirah's brow furrowed sadly. She knew Laxus didn't mean to be so abrasive whilst speaking of somebody who'd meant the world to her. "Because he believed in something that most of them gave up on a long time ago…"

.

Laxus was sceptical as he tipped his head back and glared down his nose at her. "And that is?"

.

"Humanity."

.

Laxus silenced at her side, reconsidering his approach. It was the way she said it like it was cherished, sacred. She whispered it with a strong sense of endearment, even more than how she spoke the great dragon's name.

.

"Even though Acnologia turned down a dark path a long time ago, Ryverika still believed that the power of the man who'd existed before the dragon would bring him back out of the shadows. Maybe he considered Acnologia as acting out like a rebellious teenager. To a dragon almost a millennium old, that's all Acnologia was. To us, it seems foolish, after seeing what the beast became capable of. How heartless he actually is. But to Ryverika, such a simple hope governed the world. He believed that, even though lives were lost over many years of conflict, humanity would learn from their mistakes and grow from the experience. If he had simply ended the blights before they transgressed, there would be no example set, no room for the human race to grow. Mistakes would continue to be repeated until Ryverika met his end and then there would be no hope for the human race."

.

Laxus could hear the shift in her breath sniffing back her tears as she dragged her forearm over her teary gaze in front of him. She was obviously speaking the words from memory and hearing them spoken in the dragon's mighty voice. He didn't dare to interject. He might not have agreed with the logic of the beast, but the woman he cherished more than life itself respected it. Pointing out the flaws of her caregiver probably wasn't the quickest way to a woman's heart.

.

"Ryverika was a dragon of dragons, but even he knew that they had no place in this world anymore." Neirah shuddered, her heart breaking to say the words out loud. She immediately dropped her head, a guilty flush in her cheeks. "The day he surfaced to challenge Acnologia, the day he felt the balance shift, he could only think of one thing, and that was you; his hope for humanity."

.

Laxus turned away, wanting to comfort her but with no idea of where to start. He couldn't change the past, but if he could, he never would have found his way back to Tenrou Island. He knew that he wasn't the hope, Neirah was, but his purpose in Ryverika's eyes was to protect her. He felt manipulated even if he'd never met the beast in the flesh. Ever since he'd been told the story, he felt like he had no choice, that his fate was written for him even before he knew what he was doing. When he stopped to consider how coincidental everything seemed, he couldn't accept that anything other than his own two feet were guiding him. He loved her because he'd fallen in love, not because some divine had their lives mapped out right up until the honeymoon. At least… that's what he kept telling himself.

.

"The day I came back from Magnolia and told him about the boy I met, he knew that there would be hope for me even after he was gone, so long as Fairy Tail's Prince survived. He entrusted your protection to Kairyn after his death. Both of them, gone… for you… for me…"

.

He could hear her heart aching through her meek, shaky voice. "Neirah…"

.

"It's ok," she mewled upon jolting a desperate smile his way. "You didn't know any of this was happening. You didn't ask for it…" She pressed her forehead against his abdomen and closed her eyes. "I had no idea how important you really were the day we met," she whispered. "If I had of known, I would have told him I met someone else, anyone, just so you could be free of my burden…"

.

"Neirah, don't talk like that!" He gently reprimanded.

.

"Even after joining the guild, I had no idea… just how badly I needed you… Ryverika had known all along…"

.

Laxus sighed in defeat, wishing all the while that he had the words to comfort her as she trembled against him. It seemed so strange to consider something had been planned for them all along. All the suffering, all the pain and broken promises. If it was fate, it was a bleak one; one he wished he could spare her.

.

"Maybe it is kinda hard to write it all off as coincidence..." He smiled down at her when she looked back at him, perplexed by his statement. "I mean, something kept our paths crossing. And I don't know about you, but I don't consider myself that lucky. So… maybe there is some truth in all this."

.

Neirah laughed through her sadness and nuzzled into his torso affectionately. "You don't know it's luck," she crooned. "I might be your curse."

.

He leant down and captured her chin in his hand with an affectionate smile. "I'd be ok with that," he rumbled. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and seeing that she'd calmed down a bit, he moved to adjust the trajectory of their conversation. "So, how did your mother find out about this place to put it in that old book of hers?"

.

Neirah smiled, her cheeks colouring with her bashful guilt. "Because the last people to visit these springs aside from Ryverika and I were my mother and father." She could feel him still against her but she didn't expect him to be comfortable with that kind of pressure, being new to loving each other and all. "This place was special to them… It was the only place they could meet to be truly alone, truly safe from the rest of the world."

.

"Why me…?" He muttered bleakly. "You hold me up like I'm something to be proud of." He sighed grimly and released his hold on her, more than a little disappointed that she'd defiled a place close to her heart with his presence. "I don't deserve that kind of honour…"

.

Neirah climbed to her feet slowly, the water of the spring sliding over olive skin until it rippled around her knees. Once she was standing in front of him, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his head, holding him to her breast so he could listen to her heartbeat. For a moment, she just lingered beneath the light of a crescent moon, the choir of nature filling her with peace.

.

"Because I trust you. In a way that I've never trusted anyone else," she admitted bleakly. "I love my brother, he practically raised me… but there are just some things… I can't tell him. Right from the day we met, no matter how badly we fought or argued… there was always something I cherished about you… A memory, the only one that was truly mine from the very start. No matter how Karua rewrote my story, no matter how many details were lost with my youth, you were always there. Mine. The path beneath my feet that saw me home again and again."

.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked out over the mountainside blooming beneath the moonlight, his head still clutched gently in her arms as his fingers traced the base of her spine. "It was that memory that held me and told me that everything would be ok even when you were distant. I drew my strength from you when I was too afraid to stand up and fight. You never needed to tell me everything would be alright, you made me feel it. You never needed to put your hands on me to touch me in ways that I had never been touched. The way we acted the last couple of years, so distant and cold, it never once caused me pain. You were there, always a memory. Mine. Whenever I needed you…" She smiled against his golden locks. "I can admit that I never once thought that I would be holding you, here, like this." She closed her eyes and slipped her fingers through his hair, her whisper breathless against him. "But a part of me promised that you would be the only one I would share it with."

.

Neirah's heart skipped a beat as his arms slowly came around her body, clutching her so tightly that she thought she might break. His face was still laid against her chest when she heard his breathing hitch among the cricket's song in the reeds. She thought about pulling away from him, but when she felt the heat of tears rolling silently over her breasts, she stilled, allowing him the moment he needed to comprehend the depth of her sentiment.

.

It was impossible.

.

He heard the words, replayed them over and over in his head but he couldn't make himself believe her. He ground his teeth fiercely, his body starting to shake with the tension he displayed in clutching her so strongly.

.

It hurt.

.

Every word a shot through his heart.

.

He had kept his distance for so long, fearing the warnings, fearing his own weakness. Now, he held the most delicate heart he'd ever met in the rough palms of bloody hands wondering why he'd allowed her to suffer his rejection for so long. He could never have imagined that there would ever be a time where anyone could say things like she had said to him, feel things that she had felt for him. After all the games and the drama, to hold him so close and whisper the confessions of such a pure and unshakable conviction to him was devastating.

.

He would never forgive himself for taking so long to surrender.

.

He was crushed beneath the weight of his guilt, obliterated by the memories of walking away from her love, hiding behind his own petty insecurities. He wanted to beg forgiveness for his wrongs, only to realise that she would deny that he'd ever infracted. Her unshakable faith in him made his heart ache so badly that he wanted to pry it from his own chest even if it was all he'd ever wanted.

.

"How?" He forced the statement from behind bared teeth, his voice airy and weak with the breath he used to utter his words. "How can you stand here and say things like that… to me?"

.

There wasn't an ounce of hesitation in her reply to him. "Because I love you," she whispered against his head. "More than a lifetime of words could ever say… And even if I know that this moment isn't going to last forever, a part of me wishes it really could. I want to hold you, learn you, and I wish I had more time to do it… I wish I had time to tell you all the secrets I kept from everyone else. I'll keep this memory next to the first in my heart to help me stay strong in the days to come. If there ever comes a time I'm not by your side, I want you to promise me you'll keep a smile in yours."

.

"There's no use talkin' about it like that," he almost snarled. "That day's not coming…"

.

She closed her eyes, forcing her tears from her cheeks to meet her grateful smile. Always the optimist. "Promise me anyway…"

.

"I promise…"

.

She giggled softly and pulled away from his head, and just as she'd thought, his eyes were red and cheeks stained with the presence of his tears. "I'm sorry, Prince," she whispered sweetly before rolling her thumb over his cheek. "I didn't mean to sneak attack you like that…"

.

"It's fine," he admitted hoarsely while diverting his exhausted gaze. "If nothing else, I'm glad it was me…" He looked back at her, his best attempt at a smile curling his lips in the slightest of ways. "I really am…"

.

"I know what will make you feel better," she crooned affectionately. She reached into the pocket of her cloak to withdraw a small crystal bottle.

.

His smile broadened as he caught the scent of her sakura oil on the cool breeze. "You really are a nightmare," he teased through a chest swelling with affection. A nightmare with an insatiable appetite for his affections.

.

Neirah smiled and reached out to take his hand in hers. "Finally, something my brother and you can agree on."

.

He slowly shifted his gaze back to her as she captured his hand and led him into the deeper water. Even as she smiled and danced beneath his fingertips, he couldn't help feeling the slightest foreboding for the moment. Like maybe what they were experiencing really was the calm before the storm.

.

He was hip deep in water when she finally joined both of their hands beneath the crystalline surface, pressing her naked body against his. She smiled, and gently kissed his chin, whispering sweet nothings. They kissed, he held her, hoisted her from the water in his arms and listened to her sing happily to the starry sky above them in an enchanting voice -

.

But something wasn't right.

.

He couldn't help but feel like…

.

they weren't alone.

.

.

"Argh! This doesn't make any sense!" Lucy wailed, crinkling up the map that she'd been using to chart their course. The map was covered in far too many 'x's to even remain legible. "We've been out here for days! Why can't we find them?! I mean, come on! It's not like those guys are hard to miss!"

.

"My nose must be broken or something," Natsu sneered bitterly. He glared bitterly into dawn's morning light as it cut through the trees. "I swear I can smell 'em right up until this creepy forest and then it just drops off halfway through." He groaned impatiently. "It must be that damn village that Zade melted off the face of the earth… It's got me sniffin' in circles…"

.

"It was pretty bad…" Happy agreed sadly.

.

"But even without your nose, we've circled Lysar in a ten-mile radius over the past few days! They have to be here somewhere!" Lucy demanded frantically. She scoured the land around them like luck might drop their targets into their lap.

.

"I dunno, Lu… After seeing what Zade did to Lysar, it wouldn't surprise me if they put as much distance between them and Ghoul Knight as possible," Levy reasoned.

.

"But there's nothing out there…" Happy whined. "Just ocean, mountains and trees."

.

"Happy's right," Lucy added. "They can't just live off the land for an entire month. They need to have somewhere to get supplies of some sort for camp. Lysar was perfectly situated for that if they really had been camping out in this forest."

.

"I don't know guys, Gajeel was pretty resourceful when we were with the council. Not to mention Shads pretty much grew up living off the land."

.

"Yea but I just can't see a guy like Laxus scrapin' by with nothin'…" Natsu growled. "Errr CRAP! It's like they're right here too! They have to be in here somewhere!"

.

Lucy flinched and whirled to face him as he stormed the brush for the umpteenth time. "Natsu! Slow down!"

.

"Gajeel! Laxus! Shadow! Come out before I gotta smoke you out!"

.

Lucy huffed an exasperated sigh.

.

"There he goes…" Happy mewled grimly.

.

"Hold on guys…" Levy encouraged upon taking a better look at the forest border. "I'm getting a really strange feeling coming from that mountain."

.

"Mountain?" Lucy cooed. "Way back there?"

.

"We didn't check over there." Happy announced.

.

"Well yeah," Lucy started. "That's because living on top of a mountain would be pretty much impossible. There's absolutely nothing there. No food, water."

.

Levy's brow furrowed in concentration. "I get that, but… I'm getting a really strange feeling. There's an incredibly ancient magic at work and it seems to be coming from that direction."

.

"Ancient magic?"

.

Levy started to walk through the woods after Natsu. "Gajeel and I ran into something similar while we were on the council. It was an enchantment, but something so old that I didn't recognise its script. After I thought about it for a while, I brought out the Kho'Misika N'Ahrai and learned that the reason I didn't recognise it was because it was written in ancient Austalian."

.

"The language of demons," Lucy muttered thoughtfully.

.

Levy gave her a stern nod. "Yeah and this feels like something pretty similar. It can't be Neirah's because, so far as I know, neither her or I are fluent enough in Alra'Bekthian to script an entire enchantment out of it. Besides, these enchantments seem like they were laid a long time ago."

.

"Well, maybe we should avoid it then," Lucy cautioned. "We do have a war encroaching on our territory. If it's something that powerful, maybe we don't want to go near it."

.

"That's the thing though," Levy assured her with a soft smile. "The enchantment Gajeel and I found wasn't malicious, it was an open concealment spell. The parameters of the ring must have expired a long time ago and just left an empty circle."

.

"Concealment…" Lucy's expression grew vacant before she grabbed her friend by the shoulders and shook her. "That's perfect Levy!" She congratulated, turning to point to where Natsu had taken off through the woods. "Keep goin' Natsu! Follow that nose!"

.

.

"And here we are again…" Freed murmured gently. He drew to a halt, staring at the unrecognisable ruins of Lysar's port.

.

"It looks just like a ghost town," Evergreen whimpered sadly. "I think there's less of it here everytime we pass."

.

"Well, I can tell ya one thing," Bickslow assured them grimly. "Ain't a soul left around, for one reason or another…"

.

"Guys, I'm really worried," Evergreen fussed nervously. "I know Neirah is powerful, but this is-"

.

"Despicable, isn't it?"

.

Freed whirled around to face where Porlyusica had joined them, hovering at their backs as she looked over the remnants of the city. "Miss Porlyusica, what on earth are you doing here?!"

.

"I've come to monitor the situation," she assured them. "But I see I've come far too late to do any good." The old woman passed the young wizards and knelt by the rubble, reaching her hand into the lifeless mass.

.

"U-uhm, ma'am?!" Freed panicked nervously. "Should you really be touching that?"

.

"Relax," she assured them sternly. She quietly raked her fingers through the mulch at her feet. "The magic that turned this city into fertiliser has long since vanished. The land is no longer toxic." She stood and looked out over the ruins wisely, releasing the dust to the slight breeze. "The most terrible of tragedies caused by this repulsive magic will now begin," she whispered over the maritime wind. "Soon, vegetation, trees, flowers, forests, they will start to grow from the remains of this once humble town."

.

Evergreen held her fingers to her lips in disgust. "Out of all those people he murdered…"

.

"One day, people will travel these lands and marvel at the beauty, never knowing what despicable tyrant had their hands in creating it." Porlyusica bowed her head in silent mourning. "Zade must be stopped."

.

"That is why we're here," Freed assured her swiftly as he took a step ahead of his company. "If Laxus and the others were here, there's a chance that they're not far."

.

"There's a chance they're already flowers."

.

"Bickslow!" Evergreen screeched.

.

"Not to worry, child," Porlyusica assured the frightened girl certainly. "I can assure you Laxus isn't among the mire."

.

"How can you be sure…?" Freed gently pried, more than grateful for a little assurance in such a bleak time.

.

"It is simple," Porlyusica chided. "He has his grandfather's blood. He's simply too stubborn to die."

.

Freed smiled slightly with her reassurance, vague, but comforting. "I suppose more than one plague has tried to see him from this world and he is still standing."

.

"That's our Laxus," Bickslow crooned impishly.

.

"However," Porlyusica warned. "Something does worry me now that I am here. I sense a great amount of magic coming from the forest nearby. It radiates an ancient power, unlike anything I have experienced." She narrowed her gaze at the mountains on the horizon. "What concerns me is that the towns that have been destroyed are the ones bordering this landmark."

.

"The mountain?"

.

Evergreen gasped as Bickslow stepped forward to speak, shaking a determined fist. "Do you think that's where Zade's hiding?!"

.

"I cannot say," she murmured grimly. "But something certainly isn't right. In a perfect world, I would encourage you three to go and investigate…" She trailed off, silencing the Thunder Legion expectantly. "IF YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE BACK IN MAGNOLIA WITH MASTER MAKAROV PREPARING FOR A WAR!"

.

Freed flinched and scurried away with his companions on his heels. "Apologies! Please give our regards to the master!"

.

Porlyusica watched them retreat, confidence in their party of three as they charged the unknown. "Foolish children," she murmured upon taking her first step after them. "You really have raised a reckless guild, Makarov."

.

.

Neirah groaned and stretched out her arms with dawn's morning light spilling through the main hall of their guild. She had slept so soundly, she really didn't think that thunder could wake her even if it had returned. She sat up with a gentle hum before sighing and slowly opening her eyes.

.

Alarm stole her newfound peace as she woke surrounded by the faces of her remaining guide mates like they intended on interrogating her. Her heart raced as she looked them each in the eye. "W-what's wrong?" She immediately demanded. "Is it Zade?"

.

Damion slowly shook his head. "It's the zappy bro."

.

Neirah's heart iced over when she admitted that the only one not standing in front of her was Laxus. "Laxus?" She whimpered. "Wh-where-?"

.

"None of us saw him leave," Pantherlily assured her grimly. "He must have left sometime this morning while everyone was still asleep."

.

"You two were fighting really badly last night so we did not know if maybe he got angry and just left," Arihana added.

.

Neirah's head instantly emptied of anything but the rapping of her heart against her chest. She didn't want to tell the guild that they hadn't been fighting at all, but what she couldn't understand is why he'd leave without saying a thing to her of all people. The very thought made her stomach churn.

.

She scrambled out of her bed. Her head reeling in panic. "Well if he just left, there's a chance we can still-"

.

"No dice…" Gajeel rumbled quietly, sceptical of Neirah's involvement. "If he's got a scent at all, it ain't his own."

.

Neirah stared at the floor, her heart shattered into pieces. She didn't focus too intently on the fact that Gajeel had just insinuated that there may have been a chance Laxus smelled like her. Certainly, Laxus wouldn't run from a little sentimentality. Sure, she may have told him some things that would be hard to accept, but…

.

Before she said another word, she gathered her boots and gloves, seeing herself dressed for the day. She couldn't help but feel like something terrible had happened. It wasn't like Laxus to be so secretive, in fact, it wasn't like Laxus to get up before noon. Whatever had gotten him out of bed was a serious concern, a threat even.

.

"Where are you going?" Her Edolas counterpart crooned sadly.

.

"After him of course!" She demanded, throwing the guild's front door wide open. If nothing else, she knew the scent that she needed to track in order to find him.

.

Sakura.

.

.

Neirah ground to a halt, meeting with her fellow dragons in the clearing beneath the mountain upon her return. To her dismay, Laxus still wasn't among them. "Anything?" She rushed desperately past trembling lips. Her heart ached as gazes dropped and heads shook in defeat. She threw her hands up into her hair, ripping at her roots in silent agony. If Laxus had planned on leaving, for any reason, surely he would have told her. He would have.

.

She knew it…

.

"Then we'll branch off and search a broader range!" She demanded passionately. She hated that she was willing to split them up after a month of demanding they remained together. Safety in numbers had gone out the window when she woke in a guild void of the presence that comforted her the most.

.

"Further?" Damion chimed. "We go much further, we're gonna be pushin' city limits."

.

Neirah dropped her hands and glared at him over her shoulder with passionate amber eyes. "So be it."

.

Arihana recoiled timidly. "But Empress, Zade has destroyed all the towns bordering this forest. It has made the council suspicious. If we wander from the focal that has been framed-"

.

"Arihana, I need you to understand something very important," Neirah pleaded. "Laxus has a power that we can't hope to defeat Zade without! If he's been hurt, our chances of defeating Zade have just halved or worse."

.

Damion scoffed defiantly. "We have infinity on our side, we don't need his kinda h-"

.

"I do!" Neirah roared defensively, silencing their entire party. "I can't do this alone! He is half the reason we made it this far." She lowered her voice, realising that her heart was getting the best of her head. She hadn't meant to make it sound like no one else mattered, that no one else contributed. but she wasn't thinking very rationally anymore. Her heart was racing to see them all grimly silent before her. None of them wanted to say the obvious that someone like Laxus wouldn't have thought twice about. Even she knew she was acting ridiculously. All she wanted in that moment was for him to tell her that.

.

"Gajeel, Lily… come with me," she whispered decisively. "The rest of you, search the area surrounding the forest as thoroughly as you can while also remaining out of military and council eyes. We need to find him… but I don't want you putting yourself in harm's way to do so."

.

"Can do…" Damion complied.

.

"It will be done, Empress."

.

Neirah stared blankly at the ground her heartbeat deafening as it rang in her ears. The thought of harm befalling Laxus was terrifying on every level of consideration. As one of Infinity Dragon's more powerful forces, their resistance to Ghoul Knight would be greatly reduced. Against Zade, she would be half as strong without their force in unison.

.

And her heart would be shattered.

.

.

Neirah ground her teeth as discretely as possible as Zade leant into her, but she was moments from being granted the information which she sought. She held her breath as she filtered his ramblings, seeking clues to her objective while simultaneously avoiding the scent of liquor on his breath. Her diverted gaze widened, her expression paling with the flash cutting through the elegant wall length windows of the ballroom. 'No,' she thought in panic. 'They wouldn't have.'

.

Her startled squeak may have sounded a bit more pathetic than she wanted it to as he dipped her in their dance, but when her alarmed thoughts were interrupted by Zade's hand on her face, she was certainly drawn back into reality.

.

"I had nothing to do with Karua's schemes," he drawled quietly against her. His voice was so smooth, his intent may have almost been mistaken for affection.

.

"W-wait what?" She stammered out uncertainly, having tuned out the majority of his ramblings to replace his image with another.

.

"I would never put such a beautiful little dove through such torment."

.

She wanted to haul back and strike him for even considering an advance that would see their lips connected, but to her relief, she didn't need to exhaust so much restraint. Instead of completing his advance, he quickly curled around the side of her to finish his warning.

.

"Unless of course, she was conspiring against me."

.

Her brow furrowed as she jerked from him to meet his cynical gaze. After a long moment of contemplation, she expelled an exasperated grunt of defiance in order to shove him out of her arms and away from their dance. She winced at the crack of thunder echoing in the bustling ballroom filled with other party guests, the sound piercing as a suspicious hush fell over the floor. "Now don't be hasty," Zade purred smoothly as he took her back into his embrace by her polished fingertips. "If this should be the end of you, there is no reason that we can't have one last dance."

.

Her venomous hiss was filled with malice as her pupils narrowed ominously to reptilian slits. "I'm about to give you a good one…"

.

She knew that the plot had thickened the moment the rain of crystal filled the hall and not a single party guest screamed in alarm with the shattering of the glass walls around them. Moments later, she had swung around to catch the sight of a furious lightning dragon making his entrance and she boiled over with frustration; mainly with Frost and Wavebreak for spilling her motives. But she was no more lenient with her impatient wrath as she directed her heated glare Laxus' way. She was moments from blasting him for his interference with her plans, but there was a look in his eyes that she'd never seen before as he rose to his feet and glared at the man next to her, a look chilling enough to keep her from moving at all.

.

"Get. your greasy. fucking paws. off. of my. woman," he snarled viciously. The sparks on his strained flesh were bright enough to dim the once well-lit room around them.

.

Neirah's breath caught, her brow furrowed hesitantly with the expulsion of his fury and words that struck her core. At first, she wanted to bite back at him defiantly with the reasoning that there was no such link of causality between them and his claim. Any other day, she might have.

.

"A Dreyar on my doorstep," Zade murmured whimsically with humour in his nonchalant station. "Well as I live and breathe."

.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, 'cause it won't for much longer," Laxus assured him vehemently.

.

Neirah drove her heel into the hem of her dress decisively, a smoky dagger materialising in her palm before she split the fibres of her gown to tear it off at the knee. She dropped her fingertips to the floor and swung her leg over her head, striking the man next to her in the jaw before springing back towards her ally. "I was moments from getting what I wanted out of him," she snarled impatiently upon straightening. She slid the dagger against her collar to tear the snug fabric from around her throat before she shifted her peripheral gaze to where Laxus glowered at Zade vengefully, her dagger fading back into the shadows around them.

.

"You and I are gonna have words," Laxus rumbled darkly. He didn't once break their host's unconcerned gaze as Zade was joined by his rodent companion. He also didn't once look at her as he thrust his hand down to his side, palm open for her to take.

.

Neirah didn't waver as she pressed her back against his and slid her fingertips over those offered. "If those words aren't 'sorry for being such an inconveniencing jerk', I don't wanna hear it."

.

"They're not," he rumbled curtly while lingering in the moment their presence's intertwined. His grip on her hand tightened as black and gold sparks commingled on their forearms. "But you gotta hear them..."

.

.

"Where to, boss?"

.

Neirah shuddered out of her thoughts with a gentle breath, her gaze falling on her team waiting for their orders. In observing them, she raised her gaze over the mountains they stood before. 'He wouldn't have honestly gone after Zade on his own… would he?'

.

"We're going over the mountain," Neirah demanded in authority while taking her first step towards them.

.

"The mountain?" Lily murmured hesitantly. "What would send him over that?"

.

"Ghoul Knight's headquarters rest on a rocky plane just on the other side."

.

Gajeel's gaze narrowed in on his master suspiciously. "Even if Wavebreak didn't tell us that Zade probably doesn't even hang out there anymore, what makes you think Laxus would be stupid enough to try it on his own? I know I'm hard on him but even I'd give him more credit than that."

.

"That's right," Lily agreed. "Ghoul Knight's reach is larger than any I've ever seen, certainly in Fiore's kingdom. Even against a wizard of Laxus' reputation, their sheer numbers would surely overwhelm him."

.

Neirah's expression faltered as she stared at the rock beneath her feet. "He's just as homesick as the rest of us," she whispered solemnly. She really hoped that they didn't challenge that a statement so genuine could come from their generally brooding lightning dragon. "If there was a way he could take away the pain from everyone else, he would shoulder this burden alone in a heartbeat."

.

Gajeel's gaze narrowed suspiciously. "The only one burdened by it is you," he noted sternly. "So, with the way you guys fight, you'll have to excuse us for not leapin' to that one on our own."

.

"But the mountain…" Lily prompted. "It will take at least a day to scale to the other side if not longer."

.

Gajeel dropped his palm gently on top of Lily's head before standing and straightening his headband, following loyally after his little sister. "Then we'd better start walkin'."

.

Pantherlily watched Neirah and Gajeel begin their climb but he was hesitant as he looked back to where the other half of their guild had started through the woods. "Master," Lily interrupted more fervently. He waited until she turned to face him before he continued. "I don't think the others realise that we'll be going so far out of our way," he reasoned. "If I could, I'd like to fly ahead and inform each of them before we become too far separated and lose track of each other."

.

Neirah sighed softly, grateful that at least somebody in their party retained their wits through the night. "Thank you, Lily," she agreed. She turned and offered the Exceed an appreciative smile. "We'll go on ahead and you can fly back to meet us when you're done."

.

He gave a swift nod and took flight out into the forest after the other half of their guild.

.

"Oh goodie," Gajeel sneered ruefully. He climbed the rocky face along his sister's side. "Now we got a whole day ahead of us to talk about nothin' but what's goin' on between you and Spar-" Gajeel choked on his words as an iron dragon's club crashed into his jaw and started to topple him down the rocky face in which he'd just begun traversing. He rubbed at his jaw with a dismal growl as he watched his little sister quietly continue to climb. "You ain't helpin' yer case, you know!"

.

"Bite me."

.

.

"I'm tellin' you guys, it stops right here!" Natsu demanded frantically. He glowered up at the mountain towering above them. "I can smell em' so strong it's like their standin' right next to us but this is where it just ends."

.

"That's what I thought…" Levy knelt to the ground and examined the enchantment with keen eyes. "Well, this is definitely an enchantment border. It's almost identical to the one that Gajeel and I saw out in the middle of nowhere between here and Crocus."

.

"Can you tell who set it?" Lucy questioned, kneeling by Levy's side. "Knowing if it's good guys or bad guys right about now would be ideal."

.

"I don't have to think hard on that one," Levy assured her. "This enchantment was set decades ago, no joke. It's super powerful."

.

"It's not dangerous though, is it?" Happy crooned nervously.

.

Levy shook her head and looked up at him with a reassuring smile. "Not even a little bit, but for all we know, this mountain might not even exist." Her eyes glowed with her marvelling as she traced her fingers over the ancient script. "They could be hiding an entire city behind a spell like this."

.

"No way!" Natsu gaped. "Someone could actually hide somethin' under an entire freaking mountain."

.

Levy whipped out her wind reader glasses and the Kho'Misika N'Ahrai, drawing forth her notes on ancient Alra'Bekthian. "It's amazing what simple concealment enchantments are capable of. They're usually pretty simple bases so you can really focus on putting all your power into making it super strong. This enchantment could have taken weeks to script. Just give me a minute to see what it's protecting and we'll get a better idea as to whether we want to disturb it or not."

.

"You got it," Natsu agreed. "But I'm almost sure this is where Shads and the others are hiding! Gajeel's stink is all over the place. I feel like I could just reach out right here and punch 'im!"

.

Lucy shrieked as Natsu struck out and the hollow echoes of Gajeel's grunts of pain echoed in the mountains. Their whole party was forced to still.

.

"Was that Gajeel?" Levy rushed out hopefully.

.

Lucy watched Natsu start grabbing at the empty air in front of him. "Only one way to find out!" Lucy encouraged. "Let's crack this thing!"

.

.

Pantherlily kept alert as he flew through the golden forest at sundown. "What a disappointment," he thought grimly. "I really hadn't expected them to move so quickly. Not to mention, if those three don't want to be seen, they're certainly not. Now I'm hours behind Shadow and Gaje-" Lily froze mid-flight and glared through the trees at the clearing beneath the mountain where their guild was located, watching in terror as a small fire crackled at its base. "What?! Who could possibly-?!"

.

"Anythin' yet, Levy?"

.

Pantherlily's eyes widened in alarm. "Natsu?!"

.

"No, sorry guys, this is really tough stuff…" Levy sighed in exhaustion, slipping off her glasses. "The only words I can kind of make out are all kind of mushy. It seems like this spot was an important location for something or somebody. Like a secret retreat."

.

Natsu wrinkled his nose in disapproval. "The heck? That can't be right. What would Shads want with a place like that?" He got down on his hands and knees next to her as she pointed out the characters. "Did you try readin' it backwards?"

.

"Forwards is hard enough," Levy whined. "See? This here means 'eternal'. And over here, this part means 'the one I love'." She slid her finger one more time. "And this is-"

.

"Levy?"

.

Levy whirled in her seat to face where a frantic Exceed joined their company. "Lily!"

.

"What on earth are you four doing here?!" He didn't mean to sound like he was scolding them, but there was too much happening with Infinity Dragon's guild to concern himself with the details.

.

"Isn't it obvious?" She cooed sweetly. "We're here to help you guys!" Levy's once friendly demeanour shifted sadly as she watched Pantherlily's expression drop. "W-wait, what's wrong…? Where are Gajeel and the others?"

.

"Everyone has split up for the first time in a month," he murmured grimly. "This morning, Laxus went missing."

.

"Missing?!" Lucy demanded. "How the heck does someone lose a Laxus?!"

.

"We think he snuck out in the night and hasn't returned since. Damion, Arihana and Neirah went into town while Shadow and Gajeel started over the mountain."

.

"But the towns bordering this forest have all been destroyed," Lucy whined.

.

"Wait, the fake mountain?" Natsu interrupted daftly.

.

Levy blinked. "Um, there are two Shadows?"

.

"It's a long story…" Lucy added humbly. She could recall the last time she and Natsu had run into the small Edolas counterpart of their friend. "But that's great! Now that you're here, Lily, maybe you can fill us in on what this enchantment is all about."

.

"It's our guild hall," he assured them certainly. He landed before them to show the Infinity Dragon mark on his back before he turned and folded his paws over his chest to elaborate. "The guild is actually built right into the mountain itself. Those who bear the mark of the infinite dragon can enter."

.

"Owh! Way cool!" Levy mused in excitement. "I've always wanted to learn conditional enchantment spells!"

.

"That's one way to keep annoying brothers and sisters out of your fort," Lucy crooned. "I could use that kind of magic on my bedroom."

.

"I'm sure," Lily rushed out eagerly. "But now, I must catch up with Shadow and Gajeel. They're venturing into dangerous territory."

.

"What do you mean?" Lucy whimpered softly.

.

"Shadow thinks that there is a chance that Laxus may have crossed the mountain on his way to Ghoul Knight's headquarters. If that's the case, there is a chance that Zade and his army have already met him."

.

"What?!" Levy gasped. "Laxus wouldn't seriously move so rashly, would he?"

.

Lily slowly shook his head. "I can't see it, but Shadow has been acting strangely lately. Last night, she and Laxus had a pretty bad fight. We thought he may have left as a result. She doesn't seem convinced."

.

"Well that's not news," Lucy informed. "She and Laxus have been fighting since the day they met."

.

"Yes, but recently they had been getting along quite well," Lily admitted. "He has been her second in command in the guild. In her absence, we were to answer to him."

.

"That don't sound right," Natsu challenged. "It's hard to see Laxus as the leader type."

.

"To be fair, we haven't had to be without Shadow yet to find out."

.

"Well, if Shads and Gajeel are wandering into Zade's territory, we're comin' with ya," Natsu informed. "We've been hearin' all sorts of shit about this guy that's got me all fired up and if I see 'im, I'm gonna pummel him into the dirt…"

.

"It's true," Lucy ascertained sternly. "Zade has framed Infinity Dragon for everything, the losses of all the villages, the attacks on Fiore's army. It tied Fairy Tail's hands and stopped us from coming sooner because Zade's political power is through the roof. But now that we've seen what he's capable of, we want to help stop him!"

.

"And Master Makarov allowed this…?" Lily pried.

.

Lucy flinched and quieted sheepishly. "Heeee, uhm, he doesn't know we're here…"

.

"I see…" Lily muttered in silent contemplation. "Well, I can't guarantee that Shadow will be happy about this, but I know she's really worried about Laxus. Any help we can get, I'm sure she'll appreciate."

.

"Alright then! Saddle up!" Levy crooned. "Let's go find our missing lightning dragon!"

.

Lily nodded sternly with a smile. "Right…"

.

.

It was killing Gajeel to travel so silently behind his edgy little sister, especially after the sun had finally set. Every time he brought up Laxus' name, he got a different reaction but he wasn't ready to believe that any of them were the truth. "You wanna at least tell me what you and lightning breath were fightin' about last night?"

.

Neirah was too far ahead of him to worry that he might see her blushing. "The fact that he doesn't care about anyone but himself," she quipped back without hesitation. "So pretty much the same thing we always fight about."

.

"Yeah, you said that earlier too. But you also said that he wanted to end this and spare the rest of us the headache. Those two things kinda contradict each other."

.

"How am I supposed to know what goes on in his head?"

.

"Yer the only one who claims to!" Gajeel demanded impatiently. "Look, kid, we've been together for years. If you think yer gettin' one by me, you ain't!"

.

Neirah sighed and stopped rushing ahead, her heartbroken expression turning to face him. "Screwball, please, I am not in the mood for this right now…" She lowered her tone, finding it hard to force the words past her lips. "I know that you and Laxus don't really get along. I would never do anything to jeopar-"

.

"Do you love 'im?"

.

Neirah's expression was uncharacteristically exhausted as she looked back at him and denied the very thought. "I love you, Big Brother…"

.

It was so strange for her to offer such a sincere response void of outlandish screeching and flailing. Gajeel was moments from assuring her that she could love more than one person, even if he didn't exactly approve but that was before he caught the glittering sight of lights flickering in the distance. His gaze narrowed on the dark silhouette and then widened in disbelief. "No fucking way," he breathed out nervously. "Is that-?"

.

Neirah turned her lifeless expression over her shoulder to face where she knew Ghoul Knight's headquarters stood. "Zade's headquarters," she explained. "I bet you can hardly recognise it now, but that was where you found me. Years ago, the land you see now used to be vibrant and beautiful beneath the maritime rain. It was once the city of Austalia, where I was born, where my mother grew up. The same year that Karua faked his death and abandoned the city, Zade was discharged from the Fiore military for being too forward in his approaches, making gruesome examples of enemies to the kingdom."

.

"It was the same year that Zade's father fell mysteriously ill within Austalia's walls. Zade returned to see him from this world and was encouraged by his father's last breath to take his place as one of the Austalian Elitists aside Karua and Jose. That made Zade the youngest of them all." Her gaze narrowed. "And the most ambitious."

.

"Yer tellin' me that's where I tried to get you help when you were a kid?"

.

"One and the same," she murmured grimly. "When Zade was discharged from his station as a general, he immediately took an interest in magic. He spent the next few years of his life devoting his time to learning it. In doing so, he started to build a guild in the city he'd grown up in. Soon, the guild became legendary and grew to assimilate the town beneath. Zade used condensed waves of his organic deterioration magic to clear the land around Austalia and where there used to be bright forests, it's now nothing but rocky mulch. He kept it bare so they could continue expanding. Soon, there will be nothing left of the town my mother grew up in."

.

"Yeah, well from what I hear about those creeps, that ain't a bad thing," Gajeel snarled. "Stealin' kids and turnin' em' into toys for their sick games. Every time I think about it I wanna drag Karua outta his grave just to bury 'im there all over again."

.

She bowed her head solemnly. "As terrible as it seems, I still miss the sight of the forests and flowers that used to grow here…" She looked out over the mountain in bleak observance. "Ryverika used to take me down into the forests often to draw and enjoy the soft air. Sometimes he'd let me go into the neighbouring towns, but never Austalia. We could always watch over it from here… he… could always watch over it from here…"

.

Gajeel looked back at her curiously. "Why'd he care so much about a town tryin' to steal his powers? From what I hear, he hated 'em about as much as I do."

.

Neirah gave her brother a fleeting smile. "There were some things he loved about it…"

.

The two stilled when a flash of lightning illuminated the mountainside between Ghoul Knight's fortress and where they stood. "Lightning?" Gajeel gasped out quickly.

.

Neirah's whisper was breathless as the silent area around them filled with the earth-shaking rumble of thunder. "Laxus…"