Laxus' P.O.V
"What the hell happened here?" Laxus exclaimed as their train stopped and he and Mira exited onto the small platform.
"Whatever was here left trace amounts of their magic but I think they're gone now," Mira replied as she followed Laxus off the train.
"Mira, you should go back," Laxus said without thinking, automatically feeling that he didn't want her anywhere near this place.
"What are you talking about? Master sent both of us all this way to bring Lucy and Wendy home, I'm not leaving you by yourself," Mira replied evenly.
"By yourself…" Laxus thought about her words and realised that if she left now, that he didn't want her alone. Even if she were to only be on a train.
"Are you from Fairy Tail?" a man asked in a ragged voice as he jogged onto the platform.
Laxus turned, using his hand to push Mira behind him. The man appeared like he had just been in a fight since his clothes were dishevelled and even ripped in places.
"Yes, and who are you?" Laxus replied sternly.
He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling uneasy that this man seemed to already know too much since Gramps hadn't told anyone they were coming.
"Please, come quickly. I can't carry her and she needs help," the man pleaded before he turned around and headed off the platform.
"Hey! Old man, where the hell are you going?" Laxus called after him but Mira moved around Laxus and followed after where the man had disappeared.
"Mira don't go trusting this man so quickly, there's something now right here," Laxus said in an irritated tone.
"I don't trust him, but he said that there's a girl in trouble and we're here to help Lucy and Wendy. I fear that whatever we were sent to help them fight has already been here and that we're too late," Mira frowned before she pulled out of Laxus' grip and headed off the platform.
Laxus grunted before agreeing and followed closely behind Mira. It didn't take long walking down the crumbling gravel path that they saw the man hunched over something lying on the ground. Upon closer inspection Laxus could see that the figure was an unconscious body.
"Oh goodness!" Mira exclaimed before she ran towards the man and knelt beside the body.
"She's alive but she hasn't woken up in a few hours," the man explained worriedly.
"Tell me old man, what the hell happened here," Laxus said as he grabbed the man by the collar and raised him to look him in the eyes.
The man squirmed under Laxus' grip but bowed his head in consent. The man proceeded to tell Laxus everything that happened after the girls arrived, including their survey of the village and the fight that followed. The mayor didn't have any memories of it and Laxus looked around in concern when the man was finished talking.
"Where's Lucy?" he asked, realising that she hadn't come back yet.
"H—he—he took her," Wendy wheezed from his feet.
"You're awake!" Mira beamed as she took the bottle of water out of her bag and let Wendy sip from it.
"Wait, who the hell took her?" Laxus asked, wondering if it was whatever left this overwhelming amount of magic residue throughout the town.
"The Devil," Wendy grimaced as fresh tears formed in her eyes.
Mira consoled her and tried to get her to stand. Laxus agreed, they shouldn't stay there any longer and needed to at least get Wendy back to the guild.
"He left this," the man shook as he handed Laxus a letter from the inside of his jacket.
"A note?" Mira asked in surprise.
It wasn't typical that the bad guys ever left notes behind.
Dear Fairy Tail,
This town is free from the Devil's curse since my plan has been carried out, so there is no further need for your services. As for the girl, I am keeping her as my prize. I truly enjoyed my time working with your guild and therefore heed you this warning. Keep your distance from the fire and sky dragons as they plunge into their darkness.
HD
"What the hell is this?" Laxus roared, turning to the mayor.
"The devil was using his body as a vessel to cross over into this world," Wendy managed to whisper.
"Wait.. what?!" the mayor exclaimed, looking as if he were about to pass out.
"We're leaving," Laxus announced having heard enough.
He then turned to lead Mira and Wendy back to the train station.
"But, what will I do?" the mayor called back sounding desperate.
"There's no one else here. I figure that Devil chased them all away, so get the hell outta here while you still can," Laxus called back without turning around.
Laxus was able to lead the two girls onto the next train that headed back to Magnolia. Wendy put up a fight since she kept crying about leaving Lucy behind but Laxus knew Lucy was no longer in town. Wherever this so called Devil was, they needed to regroup back at the guild before they did anything drastic. All Laxus wanted to do was go after Lucy since this Devil had decided to take one of their own but there was obviously something bigger at play going on. Mentioning Wendy and Natsu in that letter was also unnerving, especially when the guild had just learned about dragon mating themselves.
"Is she going to be alright?" Laxus asked, seeing that Wendy was passed out again and laying over Mira's lap.
Mira was stroking the young girl's hair which reminded Laxus somewhat of a mother holding a child. He shook his head, knowing this wasn't the time to lose focus of the task at hand.
"I gave her some medicine to put her to sleep. As worried as I am about Lucy, it's no good to see Wendy so upset. She's badly injured and needs to conserve her strength." Mira stated quietly. "Do you know what Wendy meant when she said a devil?"
Mira looked worriedly at Laxus who felt he was just as much in the dark about what was going on.
"I've been thinking about that too, and I have no idea. The faster we can get back to the guild the faster we can come up with a plan to get Lucy back. But I am concerned about the mention of Wendy and Natsu as well. Not bringing home Lucy is only going to increase Natsu's madness and I think we need everyone's cooperation to bring her home," Laxus said.
"Yes, I think you're right. We'll need to come up with a strategy with Master right away," Mira replied.
"Hey Mira?" Laxus asked, knowing he had to say what was on his mind if he was going to stay completely focused.
"Yes Laxus?' Mira replied in her kind voice.
"Until we get Lucy back, can you promise that you'll stick by me? Just promise you won't go off anywhere alone until this is all over," Laxus stated.
He knew he wasn't sounding completely logical, but his instincts were telling him that she needed to stay close until they found Lucy and everything returned back to normal.
Mira concentrated on Laxus for a moment before smiling.
"Alright. I'll stay by your side Laxus."