Author's Note
I am so sorry that this is really late. My computer cord broke and I had to wait for a new one to arrive and it also showed up late. On top of that I've had kennels and a midterm to study for, so I haven't been writing much of anything. But now I'm back…at least until finals.
Enjoy!
Remy couldn't believe that he was back in the guild that he left all of those years ago. But now he and the others were surrounded by faces that were both new and familiar.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could already see Makarov running forward. Some of the guild seemed to be focused on Lisanna and the baby that she was holding. They seemed to be ready to start celebrating, but he was going to have to burst their bubbles.
He turned to Makarov. "We need a doctor." He stated, looking back at Ivan.
The old man could only nod as he looked over his son. Ivan didn't look very good and Remy dreaded telling him that not one, but both of their sons were locked up in Absolon or should he call it Miresa now? Cetus seemed to think that was what it was called. What was the demon's connection to the country? Why did he think that he had some claim to it? Did Bickslow know about this and if he did, did his son agree or disagree with the monster? They had grown so far apart during the time after their guild hall was destroyed. He had no idea what his son was thinking.
And then there was Vik. He could already see both Kitt and Edvin staying close to each other as the members of Fairy Tail looked them over. What was left of Kitt's family had to be in Absolon's countryside, and he already knew that Magnus was dead. Edvin's mother would most likely follow her husband. The boy was now an orphan. Fitting really that they would end up at this guild.
He thought about Vik. What was he doing and was he okay? Would Cetus go easy on him or would he kill him? Could his youngest son survive this?
"Tell me, what has happened?" Makarov said, pulling him from his thoughts.
He looked back down at the older man and he didn't know how to answer. His life had been turned upside down in a matter of hours. His family was ripped apart in the worse way and he had no idea how he and Ivan would walk forward after this. Not only that, but how would they deal with the monster that was the King of Fiore. They could not remain in hiding forever. Not with Cetus in control. "It's hard to explain."
"I have the time." Makarov said, trying to lead him away from the group. It looked like Laxus had taken Ivan up to be looked at.
He followed the older man up to the guild master's office. He was confused for a second as he looked around it. "Did you redecorate?" He wouldn't have been surprised if the man had. It had been over 20 years.
"No, Laxus did this when he became the new guild master." Makarov answered, sitting down behind the desk.
He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "I thought you would die over retiring. At least, Ivan and I used to joke about that." He said, noticing the grim look in the old man's face.
"I retired after I thought that Raven Tail was destroyed. I decided that I wanted to focus on my family over the guild. I spent so much of my life devoted to this place that I forgot about my own child." Makarov sighed. "I'm not surprised that Ivan doesn't like me. Now that I have had time to reflect on it, I was a horrible father. I put too much pressure on him and I never realized what he was trying to say."
"Ivan doesn't hate you. He never has. He was just frustrated." He stated. Makarov seemed a little shocked at that, but he had to believe him. No one knew Ivan better than he did.
"But enough about Ivan and me. Where have you all been?" Makarov said leaning back into his chair, waiting for answers.
He sighed as he sat down across from him. This would take forever to tell. He didn't know how much the old man could really take. "We've been in Absolon. Both of my sons are still there."
"Yes, Laxus told me that the younger one, the assassin that tried to kill me was my grandson. Why are they still there?" Makarov said, clearly seeing the frown in his face.
He didn't want to say it. It felt final, but he needed to get this off his chest. He didn't know if he could move on until he did.
Ivan woke up in what looked like a medical wing, a familiar medical wing. He made to pull himself up, but found himself being pushed back down onto the bed. He looked off to the side and found that Laxus was the one that did that.
He started to wonder what had happened after he passed out. Remy had to be alive, he would be dead if that was the case. But what about his children. Was Bickslow still being possessed? What about Absolon? Why were they here?
"I can see you have a lot of questions. I can't answer everything, but I can answer some." Laxus said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"Why am I here?" That seemed to be the only thing he could think off. Besides, it would answer all of his questions at once.
"Absolon is gone. It has been taken over by that demon that is controlling Bickslow. There is even a shield over it at the moment. No one can get in or out of the country." Laxus said, looking him in the eye.
He sighed. "I told that boy that he shouldn't be messing with things he didn't understand. If he allowed Remy and I to die all of those years ago, then this never would have happened."
Laxus almost chuckled. "That sounds like Bickslow. Once he gets attached to something or someone, he has a hard time letting go."
He gave his eldest son a small smile. "I just wish things were different. That life didn't decide to be such an asshole to me. It seems that anyone and anything connected to me will suffer."
Laxus looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"First it was Kaya, I left her to go after the King, then it was your grandfather. He was made to believe that I was a menace. Then it was you. I was never a part of your life and seemed to just be a disappointment to both you and my father. Next would be Remy. He had to put up with me all of those years. I still don't know how he does it. And now Bickslow is being forced to go through the pain of having me as a family member. I just attract trouble." He was practically laughing as he reached the end.
Laxus still looked confused. "I don't think any of those things are your fault. You had no control over them."
"But fate is fate. You can't escape it, even if you try. That blast to Raven Tail was supposed to be the end of the road for Remy and I. Instead, it seems like we have angered fate itself and it wants revenge." He would have continued, but Laxus seemed to be a little angry with his words.
"I never pegged you for the type of person that just gave into the idea of fate. You came from Fairytail. We don't believe in fate. We make our own fate." Laxus said.
He looked up at the ceiling. "I used to be like you. But as time passed, I saw what real fate looks like. I continued to argue with myself over the years. Telling myself that I couldn't be what I was. Wasting precious time by giving into fear. Fate found me when I was five years old, and I ignored what it was trying to tell me. That was until 3 years ago. Your brother made sure that I was forced to face it. Bickslow could read me so well, it was kind of frightening."
Laxus laughed at that last part. "I never took Bickslow to be the kind of person that could read people. He seemed so disconnected back then."
He only shook his head. "Always watch the ones that are hiding behind a mask. They're usually watching everyone and everything."
"So your saying that he was gathering intel on us?" Laxus teased.
"I wouldn't be surprised. He was programmed to do that. His parents were spies after all." He joked.
The boy seemed a little more relaxed now. They continued to talk for a while, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. He hoped that Remy was doing better wherever he was at the moment.
Lisanna could already see the front of the guild celebrating her return, but she was still at a loss. Her husband was gone. She had to accept that. She had heard nothing more from him. Cetus must have found a way to shut him up. Bickslow couldn't be dead, but he had to at least be knocked out and away in his own mind. She would have to do her best for Xenia. At least she wasn't alone for that.
Her daughter tried to pull herself from her arms. And soon she was being passed around the guild like a trophy of some sort. She made to giggle. At least her daughter wouldn't grow up in a warzone. At least, she hoped that she wouldn't. Maybe this was for the best. But being without Bickslow would be the worst torture. She had already been without him for a long time. Now she wondered if she would ever see him laugh again with that stupid smirk on his face. She held back her tears. Her husband needed her to be strong. Xenia needed her to be strong. If she allowed herself to fall into sadness, she would never recover.
Warner looked over at 25 again. The girl looked distraught over leaving 32 behind and it seemed that she didn't really want to go back to Fiore. Carma looked up at him as she held their son. They knew that they would have to be leaving for Margret Town soon.
If he was going to be in Fiore, he was going to go back to that guild. He was going to at least try and be a family with the old hag. It was the least he could do. Maybe he would finally learn more about his mother then. Hell, maybe he could stop by Blue Pegasus and learn some things about his father. Someone had to know something.
Gunner made a face. The boy was all kinds of confused. His life had been turned upside down in the 24 hours. The boy had never been outside of Absolon after all.
He sighed, wondering where everything would go from here.
Vik walked down through the city. Looking over some of the carnage. 32 was at his side, but she didn't look at him. She was far too distracted by the idea of them been stuck here.
He still couldn't get over the fact that that part of him existed. He had so many questions, but there were so little answers. Why couldn't he know that answers yet? Why was he going to be out here without either of the men he loved?
The night sky looked odd against the shielded sky. He didn't know what to think of it. He wished that he could escape and go back to both Edvin and Kitt, but that didn't look like it was going to happen any time soon.
Rosa came up next to him. "What do we do know?"
"We need to find Cetus." He stated.
"We can't just go after him now. He's too strong, 55." Rosa said, annoying him a little.
"My name is Viktor now, Rosa!" He turned back to her and could already see how much she was hurting all over her face. "I'm sorry. I'm just on age."
He could see tears in the corners of her eyes. "I'm scared."
He walked forward, pulling her into a hug. "I am too." He gave her a small smile. "I have missed you though."
She smiled at him though her tears. "I missed you so much."
"We have to work together, Rosa. It's the only way that we can bring down Cetus. We just have to get close to him." He stated.
"How do we do that?" She asked.
"55 and 32 join him in his cause."
To Be Continued…
Author's Note
I hope to have the next chapter out by Friday. Again sorry about the lack of chapters. I know that many of the readers don't have fanfiction accounts, so they don't get notifications for when chapters are added. The next chapter will tie into this before the timeskip. There will be about 3 chapters going over different moments that happen to the characters during the skip.