Justie: Yay! Writing time! Ugh exams are coming. Jeez. I have the distinct feeling that I will not like this. But I hope you guys like this chapter!
It was night by the time Michelle woke up. Immediately, Lucy had her arms thrown around the girl. She'd remained by Michelle's side through the whole day as Laxus and Sonya alternated between keeping an eye on the two and being with Lexi. Sonya had made plans with Juvia to go on a job in the morning to take the caramel-haired Wizard's mind off the situation.
"Big sister?" Michelle asked as the blonde pulled away some.
"Michelle, are you okay?" Lucy asked as Sonya headed off to get Laxus.
"Yea. I'm a little tired though," the girl said softly. It took only a few minutes for Makarov, Laxus, and Sonya to come back into the room. The old man sat down on the edge of the cot.
"Tell me Michelle, what happened?" he asked as Sonya took a seat at the foot of the cot and Laxus stood behind Lucy.
"I was trying to get the memento out to bring it to the Guild this morning," Michelle explained with a yawn. "The wrapping slipped and I touched it then everything went black until I woke up here." Makarov nodded.
"I see. So apparently touching it without the wrapping causes all one's energy to be drained," he hummed thoughtfully.
"So what do we do about it?" Laxus asked,
"I'd say we should bring it here for safekeeping. We wouldn't want for Lucy to touch it by accident and risk her being put in a worse state then Michelle," the third Master answered.
"Okay. But there were runes on it when we left. Maybe if Levy can look at those she can figure out if they have anything to do with what happened to Michelle," Lucy said. Laxus gave the woman a wide-eyed look.
"Unfortunately she left with Shadowgear this morning for a job clear across Fiore," Sonya said solemnly.
"I see. In that case, I'll figure it out myself," Lucy declared.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Laxus snapped. "We've seen what this thing did to Michelle! Why the hell would you go near it again?!"
"Because my dad sent it to me for a reason!" Lucy snapped back. Makarov took that moment to leave the room. Sonya bit her bottom lip as she looked at her Mates continue to argue.
"He also sent Phantom Lord to Fairy Tail at one time!"
"He's changed since then!"
"Based on what? You hadn't seen him since Phantom! He could've easily put on an act to get on your good side! Outside of that, you haven't seen him in seven years!" Laxus snapped before turning to Sonya. "Will you say something to make her see reason? This thing is dangerous!"
"Don't drag her into this!" Lucy snapped.
"Both of you, quiet!" Sonya barked as she stood up. "Look. I would and would not advise against looking into this thing and why it was sent here. I would because we just saw what happened to Michelle by touching it. But for the same reason, I would not advise against looking into it because who know what will happen if we don't."
"Oh my word," Laxus growled.
"Aside from that, it's clear the both of you have very different ideas about this matter. And even with our link, there's gonna be rough patches, there's gonna be misunderstandings, there's gonna be arguments. And I've been holding your guys' hands for the last month since we found out we're a Pack." With that, the caramel-haired girl stood up and walked out of the room.
"Are you serious?" Laxus ground out.
"I'm sorry," Michelle said. "It seems like I'm causing trouble again." Lucy wrapped her arms around the other blonde female.
"No Michelle, you're not," she assured before shooting a glare at Laxus. The Dragon Slayer let out another snarl before he also stormed out of the room and down to the Guild. Lexi looked over from her seat at the bar as the man came over.
"Is Miss Michelle okay?" she asked.
"Yea, she's fine. Ready to go?" Lexi nodded and her uncle picked her up. Kinana watched as the male left with the child and a few moments later, Lucy left the Hall, helping Michelle walk out the doors. After the Hall closed for the night, the purple-haired woman headed upstairs.
Sonya was seated on the couch with Erika, a somber expression on her face.
"Everything alright?" the barmaid asked.
"Not at all," the caramel-haired Dragon Slayer sighed as she stood up and put the baby in her crib. "I can sense their anger at each other and my instincts are screaming for me to alleviate the situation."
"So why don't you?" Sonya locked eyes with her sister figure.
"Because of Mira and Erza."
"What do you mean?"
"The last time I was downstairs before Michelle woke up, I overheard them talking to each other. Erza wanted to know why Mira was suddenly on Laxus and Lucy's side with their relationship. Mira said that by using reverse psychology, they'd be able to get Lucy to see things their way."
"Are you serious?!" Kinana cried. Sonya nodded.
"So I'm letting Laxus and Lucy handle this one like any other ordinary couple. Because Mira and Erza need to realize that Laxus and Lucy belong together, despite it not being what they want for Lucy. Fate has spoken and her will shall be followed through one way or another."
"Here we go," Lucy said as she helped Michelle sit on the bed in her apartment. Lucy eyed the memento, still standing upright in the middle of the room.
"Sorry Big Sister," Michelle said as Lucy bent down to pull off the girl's shoes.
"Don't worry about it, Michelle. It was an accident. Laxus is just being a jerk," Lucy assured.
"But he's just trying to protect you, isn't he?"
"Yea, but I'm not a baby and I'm not stupid. I was perfectly fine touching the memento with the wrapping on it and what happened to you happened because you touched it without that wrapping. If he can't figure that I'm smart enough to know I shouldn't touch it, then he can bug off." Michelle remained silent as Lucy finished removing the girl's shoes. The blonde looked up to the other and smiled a little when she saw Michelle had in fact fallen asleep sitting up. Carefully, Lucy got Michelle under the blankets and went about the apartment cleaning up what she could. Once she was done, she grabbed some papers and a pencil before starting to copy the runes on the memento.
As she worked, the argument from earlier kept running through her mind over and over again. She knew Laxus didn't have a good relationship with his father. But that didn't excuse him throwing accusations at Jude. He'd never met her father. He had never seen the man Jude Heartfilia had been during Phantom nor had he seen the man at Acalypha like she had.
But then again, she could understand why he'd done so. He was remembering the place he'd grown up in being destroyed in the war with Phantom, his grandfather being put at death's door by Aria, and all because she'd run away from Jude Heartfilia. And now this mysterious object had arrived by Jude's dying request that had drained Michelle's energy simply by touching it. SO she could understand why Laxus wouldn't want her near it.
But her father had sent it and a relative to her, for what reason, she didn't know. But that was the exact reason why she had to figure this thing out. Why Laxus couldn't understand that was beyond her. But if he didn't see it the way she did, maybe she'd need to explain it to him next time she saw him.
Carefully, Lucy re-wrapped the thing in the wrappings and set it back in the case before she went off to go through her nightly ritual and go to bed.
"Sorry we didn't get to the zoo today," Laxus said as he tucked Lexi under her blankets.
"It's okay. We can go another day. Miss Michelle needed our help and that's important." Laxus ruffled his niece's hair, making her giggle.
"You're a great kid ya know that?"
"I know," Lexi said as she snuggled into the blankets. "Why were you and Miss Lucy fighting?"
"You heard that?" he asked. Lexi nodded.
"I wasn't trying to, but you guys were loud." Laxus nodded.
"It's adult stuff sweetie," he said. Lexi tilted her head.
"It sounded like you were fighting over what Miss Lucy's Daddy sent to her."
"Yes. But the reason is really grown-up. You probably wouldn't understand," Laxus said, immediately regretting his words as Lexi shot a narrowed-eye glare at him that reminded him of how his sister could glare at him with anger.
"How could you know that if you don't try explaining it?" she asked. Laxus sighed.
"Michelle touched the memento without the wrapping on it. And that's how she ended up the way she was today. Lucy wants to look into it despite knowing that."
"Shouldn't she?" Lexi asked. "It came from her Daddy. It was to help her remember him, like how my Daddy left Mommy the locket. Shouldn't we try figuring out what it is and why it does what it does?"
"Well, it's dangerous honey. What happens if Lucy or Sonya or someone else touches it by accident?"
"We'll just have to use the wrappings then. But other people don't know that about the memento, while we do. Wouldn't it be bad if they touched it without the wrappings by accident?" the child reasoned. Laxus blinked a few times and thought it over. She actually had a good point. He heard his niece giggle and he shot her a mock-glare.
"You've got a good point kid."
"Of course I do! I'm my Mommy's daughter!" Laxus chuckled and ruffled his niece's hair again.
"Love ya kid," he said before standing up. "Good night."
"Good night Uncle Laxus. Love you too!" Lexi cheered as he turned out the lights. He heard Lexi make a kiss noise before he shut the door. He stood outside the door for a moment, thinking over her responses. Her reasoning made sense. Why had he, an adult, not seen that idea? One thing was certain; he'd need to apologize to Lucy the next time he saw her.
But how was he going to do that?
He'd insulted her father, her intelligence and had acted like a complete jackass in five minutes of an argument. Not to mention the fact that he'd dragged Sonya into the argument when it was a disagreement between him and Lucy.
He stepped into his room as he mulled over how he was going to apologize to both girls. Rai was curled up on the foot of the bed in his smaller form.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Yea. I got into an argument with Lucy and dragged Sonya into it and now I'm trying to figure out how to apologize to both of them." Rai nodded.
"May I recommend something?" he asked.
"Sure, I'll take anything at this point. I'm completely clueless."
"In Exceed society, when one realizes they were at fault for a dispute, they bring forth an offering like the spoils of a recent hunt."
"That might work," Laxus mused as he changed and got into the bed.
"There's a small herd of deer in the southeastern part of the property," Rai reported. "In the morning I can show you where they are if you wish."
"Sounds like a plan pal," Laxus said as he laid back and went to sleep.
Lucy, Michelle and the memento were the first ones at the Guild in the morning. The blonde Celestial Wizard didn't want to chance missing Laxus. Knowing the blonde male, he'd try holing himself up in the office at the first opportunity.
Sonya was preparing for her job with Juvia, and had said she should be back before midnight that night as the job was a simple delivery.
The memento sat on a table with Lucy's recreation of the runes in her notebook in front of her. A few books she'd been given by Levy on ancient languages sat around her. Lucy was scanning through one that was supposed to help identify certain languages. Michelle was dozing on her crossed arms next to her as Lucy read, glancing at the door every few words.
One time as she looked up, she saw Erza and Gray walking towards her. She glanced over at Sonya as the caramel-haired Wizard's movements slowed in pulling on her furs.
"We've taken a new job request," Erza said.
"There's some bad guys stealing gold we're gonna catch. Wanna come with?" Gray offered.
"No thanks. I'm gonna pass on this one," Lucy said decisively.
"Very well. In that case, we'll be leaving. We hope you have a good day with Laxus," Erza said before walking away with Gray. It took a few steps for Gray to realize what had just happened.
"Hold on! Do you mean just the two of us?!" he asked.
"Do you have a problem with that?" Erza asked calmly.
"A…A problem? Of course not."
"If we hurry, we should be back before nightfall. So let's move," Erza said and the two left the Guild. Sonya came over, all finished with her preparations.
"That went well," she commented.
"I guess," Lucy said with a shrug.
"Oh?" she asked.
"She wished me to have a good day with Laxus," Lucy reported. Sonya nodded but didn't seem surprised by the information.
"Well, I'm off for my job." She leaned down and gave Lucy a one-armed hug. "I'll see you tomorrow if I don't get back in time for closing." Lucy watched as Sonya left the Hall, her behavior striking an odd cord in the blonde. A part of her told her to go after the girl and demand to know what was wrong but the more stubborn part of her told her that she was there to keep Laxus from holing up in the office and that Sonya was a big girl who could more than handle herself.
Lucy returned to her books.
Laxus took nearly silent breaths as he moved over the packed-down snow closer to the herd. His eyes were on a large twelve-point buck near the edge of the herd. Rai had brought him out to where the herd was on the edge of his property and Laxus was determined to get one on his own. Rai had observed the tracks around the area and warned him to keep an eye out for other predators.
Laxus managed to get a little closer to his intended prey with the cover of the trees. He peeked around the tree and saw the buck flick his ear at a fly as he dug in the snow with his hoof.
The buck bent his head down to eat whatever he'd found. Laxus raised his fingers to take a shot. The wind changed direction and Laxus froze, not only because it blew his scent towards the buck, but he could also smell something behind him. Slowly, Laxus looked over his shoulder and caught sight of something's flank move in the bushes.
He whirled, snapping a twig under his boot and the small sound caused a flurry of movement. The deer began bounding away and the bushes parted as a massive bear charged from them with a roar. What had struck Laxus the most about it was that the bear wasn't brown, but blonde in color. After a second, he shot a lightning bolt that hit the bear in the chest, killing it immediately. The beast fell at his feet and Laxus took a second to breathe before he looked back into the clearing. Surprisingly, the twelve-point he'd initially been hunting had remained in the area. He stood in the center of the clearing, staring right at Laxus. At the edge of the clearing was a beautiful doe with two small fawns beside her.
The buck turned his ears towards Laxus once before slowly walking towards the doe and her young. The four vanished into the woods after a few moments.
Laxus looked back at the dead bear at his feet. The coat could probably make a nice blanket for Lucy. And Laxus had heard of Native tribes who wore necklaces made of bones and claws so maybe the other Dragon Slayer would appreciate a necklace of claws as an apology. The only big issue was, how was he supposed to take this massive thing home? It was at least Laxus' own weight and a half, to even five times his weight. Not to mention, he needed to get back home and get breakfast ready before Lexi woke up.
Normally, he'd just teleport. But the problem was he'd already cooked the bear when he'd killed it, and he didn't want the meat to go to waste. Sonya certainly wouldn't appreciate it. And the whole reason he was doing this was to apologize.
In the end, he took one end and Rai took the back end and they made their way back home.
All too quickly, Laxus caught the scent of a Vulcan coming towards them. The Dragon Slayer snarled as the massive ape appeared, holding a doe in hand. The female was kicking wildly, trying to escape and bleating loudly.
"I thought I smelled something tasty," the ape chuckled. Laxus let out a growl as he narrowed his eyes. That doe was the one from earlier in the clearing, meaning she had young to feed. While normally he wouldn't bother with the happenings of animals around him, this Vulcan had come up and started bothering him.
"What do you want?" Laxus snapped as he set the bear on the ground.
"I was just thinking how I wanted to get back at those Fairy Tail losers and all of a sudden, one of them walks on my turf." Laxus' eyes narrowed.
"Monkey's got a bone to pick?" he growled as Rai dragged their prey away from the Lightning Wizard.
"Yea I gotta pick which one I wanna break first. I think I'll start with your face!" the Vulcan said before swinging a fist at the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Laxus let his Magic crawl across his skin, allowing for sparks of lightning to fly off his arms.
"You're in for the shock of your life!" Laxus declared as he let loose a massive amount of lightning on the creature. Immediately, it threw the doe away. Laxus shifted to lightning in order to catch her and bring her gently back to the ground. He had no interest in killing her, not to mention she had young to feed, so it wouldn't be right to kill her. The Vulcan fell to the ground as Laxus let go of the doe. She trotted to the edge of the clearing and looked back at him. Her ears turned towards him. "Go on, find your kid," he said with a wave of dismissal. Her ears turned again and she ran off into the woods, hopefully to find her baby.
Laxus headed back over to Rai and lifted the front half of the bear again.
"Very well handled," Rai said as they continued on.
"I like being able to hunt around here. If I can do something to keep game in the area, I'm gonna do it," Laxus reasoned with a shrug.
A few feet away from the clearing where the house was, the crunching of snow caught Laxus' attention and he sniffed the air, immediately annoyed when he smelled Natsu coming. But then he also smelled Gajeel coming.
"Rai, take the bear back to the house. We've got some guests apparently," Laxus said as he released the bear's front.
"Roger!" Rai affirmed as he began dragging the bear over the snow back to the house. The blonde male headed towards the scents. If Natsu decided to fight, Laxus did not want the pyro teen near his home where his niece was sleeping.
The scents got stronger and Laxus could hear the two arguing through a small cluster of trees.
"I'll beat him with my own two hands!"
"Not if I get to him first!"
"Who's beating who again?" Laxus growled as he made his presence known. The two gawked at him as if they were surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Laxus!"
"Holy cow!" Happy cried as he appeared behind Natsu. "That lightning really was him after all!"
"What are you two doing here?" Laxus asked. Gajeel narrowed his eyes at him.
"Hold up a second, you're the one who threw up the signal," the Iron Dragon Slayer said.
"What signal?"
"That big ol' lightning bolt in the sky," the dark-haired man explained.
"Since we're here, let's throw down and see who comes out on top!" Natsu declared, punching one fist into his palm.
"Natsu," Gajeel growled.
"Sounds fine to me," Laxus said with a tone of finality. Sure he'd fought Natsu a time or two since they'd been back, but Gajeel still had a score to settle from when he'd first joined and Laxus had beat him into the dirt.
"Sounds like fun to me," Natsu said with a grin. Laxus crouched slightly.
"Alright Natsu, guess you're first in line." Natsu immediately burst his fists into flame and Laxus let his lightning cover his arms.
"Wait! Hold on!" All three males snapped to look at the small, blue-haired Dragon Slayer as she neared them.
"What for?" Natsu asked.
"If you guys are really gonna go through with this, you gotta make sure it's a special occasion!" Wendy insisted.
"What're you talking about?" Gajeel asked.
"The match'll take place tomorrow!" the child declared.
"Fine by me, I can wait one more day to kick his butt," Natsu said with a shrug before glaring at Laxus. "Meet me tomorrow under the big Sola tree in South Gate Park."
"Sounds like a plan to me. And once I'm done with you, Natsu, Gajeel gets a round."
"You sure about this man?" Gajeel asked, sounding more amazed then intimidating. Laxus would need to ask Sonya about it when she got home. Wendy let out a breath of relief as he turned and headed for home, Natsu turning on his heel and chuckling to himself as he walked off. Gajeel's gaze almost felt like a weight on Laxus' back.
"Got something you want to say?"
"Not really. I'm fine with this. But you're gonna need to speak with your Gamma." Laxus glanced at the Iron Dragon Slayer over his shoulder.
"Sonya's a Beta-Gamma. She shows more Gamma tendencies."
"I know. But most Dragons and Slayers will tell ya that she's a Gamma just to keep it short. Later," the man said as he walked off. Laxus let out a sigh of annoyance before heading back home.
Sonya looked around the platform again. Upon not seeing Juvia anywhere, the caramel-haired woman let out a light sigh. A part of her wanted to go back to the Guild and help Laxus and Lucy come to a good conclusion to this argument. But she needed to take a step back and let them handle their issues sometimes.
Sonya looked up again and smiled when she saw the Water Wizard. Her smile faded as the woman didn't seem to notice her and hurried onto a train. Sonya followed the woman onto the train. It took a few moments to find the Wizard and the train started moving before Sonya could take a seat.
The Water Wizard was on her knees in her seat, back to the Celestial Dragon Slayer as she neared.
"Juvia?" The woman let out a startled yelp and whirled around.
"What are you doing here?" Juvia asked. Sonya tilted her head slightly, confused.
"We…have a job. Remember?"
"Oh that. I called the client and cancelled when something more important came up."
"What came up?" Sonya asked.
"Erza and my darling Gray are going on a job. Alone!" The rain woman gripped the seat until the wood cracked and splintered.
"And?"
"And so I must go with them to ensure his safety!"
"You canceled on the client to stalk Gray?!" Sonya shrieked.
"No it is not!" Juvia shrieked right back.
"Miss, please sit down," a conductor said gently. Sonya took a seat and let out a low growl.
"I can't believe you'd do this Juvia! You'll ruin Fairy Tail's reputation doing this!"
"Never mind that!" Juvia said as she waved dismissively. Sonya let out another growl as she settled in for the ride.
After Laxus had gotten Lexi up, fed and dressed, he'd loaded the bear in a sled he usually used for carrying firewood and he and Rai managed to pull it to a tanner in town.
The tanner was surprised by the color of the coat but agreed to help Laxus with turning the pelt into a blanket and the claws and teeth into necklaces in exchange for the meat, which Laxus readily agreed to.
At the end, Laxus had one necklace of teeth for Lucy and a necklace of claws for Sonya. The pelt would be turned into a blanket and sent with the clean bones to Fairy Tail upon completion.
The blonde male set his niece on the sled and began making his way home, passing by South Gate Park as he did. There were tents pitched, some offering food, some displaying games and goods to buy. Laxus blinked a few times, knowing that this had not been there that morning.
"Looks as though there is a festival," Rai said.
"Yep," Laxus said with a shrug.
"Uncle Laxus?" Lexi said as she stood up.
"What is it Lexi?"
"Why don't you ask Miss Lucy to the festival?" the child asked. "Maybe then you can apologize." Laxus paused in his steps for a moment before turning to the little girl.
"Don't you want to go?" he asked. Lexi shrugged.
"The games are rigged, the goods are overpriced and the food makes my tummy hurt." Laxus let out a little chuckle at his niece.
"Tell ya what, we'll head to the Guild and check to see if Lucy is there, then go from there, okay?"
"That sounds way better than a festival." Laxus let out a chuckle as he continued on his way.
Lucy sighed as she began to leave the Guild. Through the course of the day, she hadn't been able to identify the language used and she hadn't seen Laxus at all. Although, Gajeel and Natsu had come in around noon, with the pink-haired boy boasting about how he was going to beat Laxus once and for all the next day. Michelle had left for the apartment around that time, stating she felt tired and should continue to rest in bed and had taken the memento for safekeeping.
The blonde woman looked up as she headed for the end of the property. Before she got too far though, Laxus walked into view, his massive black coat draped over his shoulders, pulling a sled behind him that carried his niece and small Exceed.
Laxus came over to her and pulled a necklace from one pocket before offering it to her. Lucy picking it up and looked over the white pieces on the string, quickly discovering they were teeth of some sort. Her eyes widened.
"What's this?" she asked.
"An apology," Laxus said. "I was an ass yesterday, again. I shouldn't have said what I did about your father, or you or dragged Sonya into it. That was my mistake. This memento is the last thing your father gave you. So I want to help you look into it." Lucy smiled gently.
"I accept your apology. And…I should apologize too. You're just trying to protect Sonya and me, but I was being difficult. Not to mention, I ignored what happened to you in your past which probably influenced what you said."
"Don't worry about it," Laxus said as he pulled the necklace from Lucy's hands and placed it around her neck. Lucy fingered the dulled teeth with a small smile. Laxus smiled slightly at the smaller blonde before the breeze picked up and he smelled Sonya's scent on the wind. He turned towards the entrance to see the caramel-haired Celestial Wizard coming towards them.
Once Sonya laid eyes on them, she smiled and hurried over, despite looking like she'd just climbed Mount Hakabe with a hundred kilos tied to each of her feet.
"Hey, what are you guys still doing here?" Sonya asked as she neared. Lexi smiled as the caramel-haired woman picked her up.
"Making up for our argument yesterday," Laxus said before he pulled out Sonya's necklace of claws and held it out for her. Her blue eyes widened at the sight and gently, Laxus placed the string around her neck, letting the claws clink and tap together as they came to a rest on her collarbone.
"Thank you," she breathed gently as she ran her fingers over the claws.
"I also owe you an apology for dragging you into that argument. It was between me and Lucy." Sonya sighed and let her hand drop.
"Let's go inside," she said. "I need to tell you guys something."
The three did so, leaving Lexi with Kinana at the bar as the woman was finishing cleaning. Laxus, Sonya and Lucy entered Sonya and Kinana's room and took a seat on the couch. Sonya took a moment to collect her thought before she turned to her Mates.
"So what did you decide to do with this situation?" she asked.
"We haven't come to a complete decision yet," Laxus said. "But I'm willing to help with figuring the thing out."
"Before we talk about that," Lucy spoke up. "Sonya, you mentioned something we needed to talk about?"
"Yes. Before Michelle woke up, I was downstairs with Lexi and overheard Mira and Erza talking. Apparently, Mira is not as supportive of Laxus and Lucy as she showed this morning. It was an attempt to use reverse psychology on Lucy." Lucy's eyes widened.
"Are you serious?" she asked. Sonya nodded sadly. Laxus reached a hand over and placed it on her shoulder.
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" he asked.
"Because I didn't want you two to pretend that there was no disagreement. You two needed to come to your conclusion on your own," she said. "But my instincts were constantly screaming at me to fix it."
"That's your role as a Gamma, isn't it?" Laxus asked. "I know its Beta-Gamma with Gamma tendencies but Gajeel said for short, most Dragon Slayers would probably call it Gamma, right?"
"Yea."
"Speaking of, I ran into Natsu and Gajeel today and they said I sent up some kind of signal or something. Wendy showed up a few minutes later when we were about to fight and got the fight delayed to tomorrow. But Gajeel recommended I talk to you." Sonya nodded and sat at attention.
"Tell me what happened this morning," she said. Laxus explained his hunt up until he went back home to get Lexi up. When he mentioned the Vulcan he fried and the doe, Sonya's eyes widened and while she continued to nod and show she was listening, her gaze fell to the floor rather than him.
"So what's going on exactly?" Laxus asked.
"Well, this is kinda huge in Dragon and Slayer culture," Sonya muttered as she sat back. "By an Alpha attacking another Alpha of any kind over a female of any kind, causes a signal to flare into the sky, summoning others to the attacking Alpha. That Alpha has essentially challenged all others who will heed to call to become Alpha of the Territory, or some might call it the Territory Alpha. Alpha of the Territory acts kinda like a tribal chief. Like…For Dragon Slayers, the Alpha of a Pack acts as the family head. Over the heads is the chief, or the Territory Alpha. With Slayers, a squad would be headed by the Territory Alpha."
"So that means…" Lucy started.
"Essentially, Laxus unknowingly agreed to fight Natsu and Gajeel for the right to lead a squad if the need ever arises. And all Natsu's talk of being in a Pack with Gray and Erza is nothing more than that, talk," Sonya said.
"So you and I are his Mates. What are we supposed to do?" Lucy asked.
"Watch and not look away no matter what," the caramel-haired Wizard said. Erika started crying in her crib and the Celestial Dragon Slayer went over and picked up the child, cooing softly to her.
"And me?" Laxus asked.
"You fight. And you don't hold back. It would be disrespectful to Natsu and Gajeel. But Gajeel seems like he's more aware of real Dragon Slayer culture than Natsu so that guy might take more offence to it if you don't."
"Wait, Dragon Slayers had their own culture?" Lucy asked.
"Yea. Not much is known about it because it wasn't around for too long. But Draco taught his way of life to the Dragons, who taught their Slayers. The most famous practitioner was a Lightning Dragon Slayer named Robert Marevelli."
"Where have I heard that before?" Laxus asked. Sonya chuckled.
"He was the founder of the Rune Knights. On top of that he had three wives. His first Mate was a Sky Dragon Slayer named Ariel Featherheart. Second was Princess Victoria of Veronica. The third one was Elizabeth Heartfilia." Sonya let out a chuckle as Lucy's jaw dropped.
"Are you serious?!" she cried. Sonya nodded.
"Ain't that funny? Your ancestor was mated to a Lightning Dragon Slayer and now you are too." Lucy let out a little chuckle.
"So is that all in regards to this whole…fight thing?" Laxus asked.
"Yea, I'd say so," Sonya said with a shrug.
"So how was your job with Juvia?" Lucy asked as the infant in Sonya's arms quieted. The woman dropped her head back.
"I don't want to talk about it," she groaned.
"Sorry but we are," Laxus said with a smirk. Sonya sat down on the couch with a sigh.
"That woman needs help. Apparently Gray and Erza went on a job together and so Juvia canceled on our client in order to stalk Gray without telling me, so I got dragged along. I tried talking to her about the problem but she claimed that I was just trying to take her out of the picture so I could get close to Gray."
"Seriously?!" Lucy cried.
"Seriously," Sonya sighed as she gave Erika one of her fingers to hold onto. The baby cooed in joy as she began gumming on the digit. "I tried convincing her I wasn't interested but she continuously said I was lying, how Gray was perfect in every way, shape and form, and how I'll never win him over. Honestly I never thought mere talking would exhaust me as much as it did today."
"In that case, why don't you let me take care of Erika and you get some rest?" Lucy offered.
"Sorry," Sonya said as she passed the infant over to the other girl.
"No problem. You might've been the one to adopt her, but since you're our Mate that technically makes her our daughter too," the blonde female said as she sat back with the child. Both Sonya and Laxus gave the Celestial Wizard a wide-eyed look. "What?"
"That's a bit of a jump…I'd say at least," Sonya said with a slight chuckle. "At least until we pass through the Covenant Veil."
"Doesn't mean we can't help you take care of her," Lucy cooed as she rocked the baby.
"Thanks Lucy," Sonya yawned before her head came to rest on the blonde's shoulder and almost immediately, her breathing evened out.
"Seriously?" Lucy whispered, looking at her Mate.
"Can you blame her?" Laxus asked as he stood up and scooped the exhausted Dragon Slayer into his arms.
"Honestly, no. Juvia is beyond needing help at this point," Lucy sighed as Laxus set Sonya into her bed and pulled the blankets up around her.
"So what do we do?" the male asked as he came back over.
"I don't know. If we try taking her somewhere she'll likely fight us and trying to contain her is like trying to contain a river with your bare hands." Laxus let out a sigh as he sat down on the couch.
"So we not only need to worry about Natsu stalking you on jobs, but also Juvia stalking Gray. And who knows what else," he muttered. "If Freed were here, I'd ask him to write up some runes to keep people from stalking each other."
"Can't you?" Lucy asked.
"I know Jistu Shiki almost as well as Freed does. But I'm gonna be the first to say that Freed's smarter than I am, him and Rose just to start. I know that if I wrote the runes, I'd forget some loophole or apply it to someone without intending to and then we'll be caught up in a huge mess. So I'm gonna leave that sort of thing to him. Simple stuff like what was used during Fantasia, I can do just fine. But we're talking about specific instructions for specific situations."
"I see," the blonde female said as she stood up and placed Erika back in her crib. "So we wait for Freed?"
"It's not what I want to do, but it looks like we don't have many other options, unless we want the potential of it interfering with jobs and other bullshit we don't have time or resources for."
"Good point," Lucy sighed as she sat down beside him and leaned her head against his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her gently, pulling her into his side.
"But I want to make something clear. I'm going to do what I can to protect you, Sonya, and the others. There's gonna be times where I seem or act like a complete and utter ass, either because something I say or do is interpreted wrong. But I'm not good with people and emotions and talking in general. So have some patience with me, alright?" he asked.
"Yea. I think I can do that," Lucy said with a slight smile. It only took a few minutes of silence for the two to fall asleep.
Rose let out a slight sigh. After a day of signing a near half billion forms that the Magic Counsel required of consultants and riding with Lahar in a carriage to their destination, she was tired and sore. She wanted to get back to her baby as fast as possible as well as see if Erik was among the tests conducted on Lexi's DNA.
The Chief Marshal had been completely silent during their ride, making the entire travel awkward as they were the only ones in their carriage, the Thunder Legion following them in other carriages.
Rose knew what Lahar was doing. She'd seen him all but glaring at Bickslow when the Seith Wizard remained close to her, even through all the paperwork. The Rune Knight was using this opportunity to try getting close to her again. She knew Lahar had grown up in a very old-fashioned family that believed women should be subservient to their husbands and all that. Lahar considered himself a little more liberal than that, saying that women should be able to work alongside men, as opposed to staying at home at all times. But Rose would argue most of his arguments more supported his pig-headed father's opinions.
It was shown in their silent ride. She could tell he wanted to say something to her. But he wasn't going to say anything until she did first. He'd wanted her to get uncomfortable with the silence and break, allowing his ego to be stroked as she caved under him and further encouraged his way of thinking. If what he wanted to discuss was so important, he wouldn't bother with the stupid little game he was playing.
Once the carriage had come to a stop, Rose was quick to leave it and find the Thunder Legion as Lahar got his men into position around a nearby church, one of the three likely next targets. The priest has been removed from the premises and the church cleared out in secret, so that hopefully the culprits would appear.
Lahar perched himself and the consultants with his guards on top of the peak overlooking the church. The entire group remained silent for hours, keeping watch on the building. As the minutes ticked by at a snail's pace, Rose pulled her jacket tighter around herself. Even with her thick winter coat and a jacket underneath, she was freezing. Bickslow kept close so she could feel his body heat next to her. It alleviated part of the discomfort, but not completely. Freed stood nearby, perfectly at ease despite the low temperature. Evergreen was also nearby, although she was also bundled up.
Freed looked over his shoulder at his team and leader's sister. While he had no problem asserting mind over matter in terms of dealing with the cold, it was clear that Rose was not the same.
"Are you certain this is the target?" the Rune Mage asked the Rune Knight.
"One of three, yes," Lahar said quickly.
"In that case, where are the other two?" Rose asked. One of Lahar's guards pulled out a map and pointed to two other spots only a few miles away.
"Okay. Bickslow, Evergreen, you guys go to this one. I'll head to the last one. Maybe we can cut the culprits off before they get here. Freed, you stay here with the Rune Knights," Rose ordered.
"Understood," Freed said with a nod.
"Need a lift?" Bickslow offered.
"No. Kit and I have this handled, thanks," Rose said as she snapped her fingers, summoning the kitsune.
"My lady," he said with a deep bow. Bickslow flipped onto his babies and flew off with Evergreen quick to follow. Rose took hold of Kit's hand and merged with him. The scarlet tips of her hair reached a little further up her back and her clothes had turned to a long white kimono with long, flowing pieces draping behind her. Her fingernails were longer and her teeth were brilliantly white. Floating around her were small balls of purple fire.
Freed blinked once and the woman was gone, leaving only disturbed snow in her wake.
Rose leapt through the trees, Kit's heightened senses and instincts assisting in avoiding getting hit in the face with other branches.
Suddenly a loud noise and a blast of hot air in front of her, knocked her out of the treetops. Immediately, Kit's foxfire surrounded Rose in a swirling vortex of purple flames. The enchanted fire deposited her on a soft snowdrift with a similar gentleness that she would use with her daughter.
Rose stood up almost immediately and turned towards the direction the blast had come from. A pillar of fire and smoke rose to the dark skies like a beacon of some sort.
The sound of feet crunching in snow caught Rose's attention and she immediately whirled around.
"Who's there?!" she yelled. The footsteps came to a stop and the scarlet-tipped blonde looked around.
"Rosie?" Rose stood up straight, her eyes widening. Slowly, she turned her head to look over her shoulder. She saw the white-haired woman first, with a long black cloak draped over herself. Beside her stood a redheaded man. Rose's gray eyes locked with a single violet one and she turned her whole body with a gasp.
"Sorano? Erik?" she asked as a hand came up to her mouth, her eyes taking in his scar. Slowly, the man came over to her before slowly reaching one hand up to cup her cheek.
"You…You're…" Rose slipped her arms around the man in front of her and pulled herself into his chest.
"I've missed you," she managed as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She felt warm hands wrap around her back and pull her into his arms before he fell to his knees.
"How?" Erik breathed as his hands brushed over Rose's arms, back, hair and hips.
"Purple flames...Netherworld flames." Rose looked over Erik's shoulder at Sorano, who was watching the moment with tears in her own blue eyes and a hand on her mouth. Erik pulled back and kissed at Rose's cheeks, nose, forehead and lips before pulling her into his chest again.
"I almost can't believe you're here. But you are," he said with a sob of relief.
"Erik?" Rose asked pulling back some to look him in the eye. "What's going on here?" For a second, Erik's eye shot to the pillar of fire and Rose's eyes widened. "No…" Erik pulled her back into his embrace again.
"Listen, everything I've done, everything I'm doing, and everything I'm going to do, it's all so Sorano and I can get back everything we lost." One of his hands slid up her neck, catching on the chain of her locket. The redheaded man opened the trinket and smiled. "I'm going to keep my promise to you. A new life for all three of us, in a new home, with a new family."
"What about the others? Macbeth and Richard and Sawyer? What about Bartholomew?" Rose asked. Immediately, she felt Erik's hands tighten on her and his teeth bared in a snarl.
"Bartholomew betrayed us. I lost one fight and he shot me in the back. Macbeth actually came up with this plan to help Sorano and I get everything back."
"Wait a minute I'm confused. Batholomew shot you in the back? What about Sawyer and Richard? And what plan has Macbeth come up with? And what do you mean by everything?"
"We cannot explain everything now. But we mean that soon we shall regain you, little baby Alexis, Cubelious and our younger sisters," Sorano explained, stepping forward.
"Wait your sisters? You mean the ones who died when you were kids?" Rose asked, looking from Erik to Sorano quickly.
"Erik. We should hurry back. We're running out of time," the white-haired woman said before turning away.
"I know," Erik growled as he pulled Rose into his chest one more time as Sorano ran off. "It won't be too long. I promise. You and Alexis wait just a little longer. We'll be together soon." Erik placed one more kiss on Rose's lips before running off after Sorano, their dark cloaks almost immediately making them vanish into the darkness.
"Wait!" Rose yelled as she rose to her feet and tried to chase after them. She dared not yell their names in a forest where Rune Knights were probably looking for the two. "What could they have possibly meant by all that?!" she mentally screamed as she followed their tracks. Soon though, the footprints vanished, leaving Rose alone in the forest. The scarlet-tipped blonde collapsed to her knees as more tears began streaming down her cheeks. She felt Kit separate himself from her and wrap his arms around her, enveloping her in warmth as she cried.
A part of her was horrified. A part of her was relieved. But mostly she was confused. On one hand, Erik and Sorano were involved in the church fires. On the other hand, her closest friends growing up still cared for her. Erik still loved her, still wanted her. But how could he have possibly known about Lexi? He'd never laid eyes on her…or rather, eye now. What had happened to his eye? What had happened to Cubelious? What plan was Macbeth executing that would return her, Lexi, and two dead children to Erik and Sorano?
Erik and Sorano had shared their past before Bartholomew adopted them with Rose only once. Sorano's blood-sister was supposed to have died when the white-haired woman was taken by people looking for children to serve as slaves. Hundreds of people had been used to construct a massive tower. Dozens of them died by the day. One little brown-haired, blue-eyed girl, who Erik called 'Little Dreamer', had been like a sister to both Wizards. They'd taken care of her and the three of them had been happy together, like an actual family. But one day, there'd been an uprising and while trying to escape it, the little girl had been vaporized and Erik's arms had been burnt some trying to rescue her.
Rose herself had traveled to the village where Sorano and Erik had come from once and she'd collapsed and cried upon seeing the place. It was completely barren. No ruins were left to suggest structures had ever existed there, no skeletons of the many dead, grass didn't even grow in that place.
She'd erected two headstones for the place, one for the people who'd died at the tower, and one for Yukino, Sorano's little sister who'd been lost in their village's raid. Since she didn't know if Yukino really was dead, the scarlet-tipped blonde had left the date of death blank on the stone.
Yukino was missing. Little Dreamer was dead, vaporized. Cubelious was missing. But Rose and Lexi were perfectly fine. Erik and Sorano had never seen the child, never known Rose was even pregnant. How could they know that Lexi even existed? Just what was happening?
More crunching of snow alerted Rose to the approach of Knights. She stood up and made herself look presentable before turning to face the approaching Knights.
"Miss Dreyar! Did you see anything?!" the man commanding the troops asked as he neared.
"No. I didn't," Rose said. "Until I know what's going on. Lahar's not getting anything from me about Erik or Sorano."
Laxus looked around the park as the Pack and children neared the Sola tree in the center. Erika was secured in a papoose on Sonya's back while Lexi held onto Lucy's hand.
"So all this just because I'm fighting Gajeel and Natsu?" Laxus muttered.
"You're surprised?" Sonya deadpanned as Gajeel neared and crowd began to gather.
"You know what you're doing?" Gajeel asked. Laxus nodded and the other male gave a slow one in return.
"Sweet! Black Steel Gajeel is ready to throw down! And Laxus is so calm and collected its terrifying!" Jason cheered into a microphone. Sonya let out a low growl as Erika began crying at the sudden noise. "The two heroes stare down their opponent!" Laxus rolled his eyes as he helped remove the child from the carrier and handed her to the caramel-haired Dragon Slayer. "The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife!"
"Tension?" Sonya said, noting the relaxed atmosphere around them. Natsu made his way through the crowd and stood tall at the edge.
"Natsu has arrived! All three warriors are in their places!" Jason cheered. Rai hopped up onto Lucy's shoulder and watched as Laxus stepped forward. "Looks like Natsu's getting first crack at him!"
"Let's do this thing," Laxus said. Natsu grinned and slipped into a fighting stance.
"Bring it!" The crowd cheered at the pink-haired boy's declaration.
"I'm gonna warn ya that I won't hold back," the blonde warned as he shrugged off his coat.
"I don't blame ya!" Laxus' eyes narrowed.
"Do you understand what I'm saying Natsu? If you don't survive this, it's not on me."
"I could say the same to you, big guy!" Natsu's fist burst into flames. Laxus shook his head as lightning licked up his arms and over his shoulders. After a few seconds, both males completely engulfed themselves in their elements, making the snow around their feet melt.
"Yes it's on now!" Jason hollered into the microphone. Sonya leaned towards Lucy.
"Watch, the first one to move is going to lose," she observed.
"You think so?" Lucy asked.
"Just watch." A few seconds later, Natsu charged forward with a yell. The sound was quickly cut off, the fire and lightning vanished as Laxus landed a solid punch to Natsu's head, knocking him face-first into the ground.
"T. K. O!" Jason yelled. Laxus rolled his eyes as he looked back at his Pack. Sonya was covering a chuckle as Lucy rolled her eyes. Lexi gave him a thumbs up and Erika blinked a few times. He sighed in annoyance before turning towards where he remembered Gajeel to have been standing.
"So, you ready for round 2?" he asked before he finished turning. The blonde male's eyes widened slightly when he saw that Gajeel was no where to be seen.
"Whoa! Gajeel just ghosted!" The crowd immediately ran off to find the Iron Dragon Slayer as Happy checked on Natsu. Laxus put his coat back on and went back to his Pack.
"Let's get going," he said as he put one arm around Lucy's shoulders.
"To where?" Lucy asked.
"Your apartment to get your Dad's memento," he said with a shrug. "Even if I can't figure out the language its in, we should probably leave it at the Hall from now on."
"Good point," Lucy said with a nod.
"Someone say something about a language?" The trio of adults turned to see Levy walking up to them.
"Levy!" Lucy cheered as she hurried over and hugged her friend. "You're back from your job. How was it?"
"Uhh...Can we forget it for now and talk about that language Laxus mentioned?" the petite bluenette asked.
"Uh sure. My dad's memento has some inscriptions on it that I couldn't figure out." Levy's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
"May I take a look?"
"Sure. Its at my apartment."
Rose ran a hand through her hair as she glared at the pages before her. Lahar wanted them to stay a little while longer until the next attack so all she had to do until then was sit and read in the massive library the Magic Counsel had. This building infuriated her to no end. The Magic Counsel banned certain books because they possessed Magic that they deemed unsafe for any and all persons to handle but this library was chock-full of all these banned books and plenty of other ones that the public had no access to.
Bickslow, Evergreen and Freed were pouring over old tomes from Zentopia with her, all on the hunt for any information they could find. The Thunder Legion was looking for anything at all, while she herself was looking for anything in regards to reviving the dead and return the missing, or granting wishes. But so far, hours upon hours of searching had proven fruitless save for finding some bullshit book written by a Cardinal about how Seith Magic was abominable. It gave Bickslow an excuse to look into Seith Magic books to 'see if anything matched the church fires'.
Rose glanced over at the Wizard as he carefully looked over every book on his own Magic he'd been cut off from thanks to these pompous windbags buying into an old crackpot's nonsense. Her fingers began playing with her locket again and as soon as she realized it, she yanked her hand away and got back to reading.
There had to be a reason for Erik and Sorano attacking the churches. And she was going to find it, dammit. They wanted back everything they'd lost in the past.
Rose blinked.
"The past? Time Magic?" she thought before she stood up and turned to one of the librarians standing nearby. "Get me everything involving Zentopia and time," she barked.
"Yes ma'am!" the frog-men croaked as they ran off to obey.
"Time?" Freed asked.
"A hunch," she explained dismissively. Pupu and Pipi flew over to the scarlet-tipped blonde and let out little hums of worry before flying back to Bickslow. The Seith Wizard eyed to woman suspiciously before returning to his book.
Once inside Lucy's apartment, Levy had immediately set to looking at the memento and taking notes on the runes while the Pack, children and Michelle made themselves comfortable on Lucy's bed and around her table.
"Oh sweet!" Levy cried with excitement as she sat upright. "This is written in ancient Potymelian!"
"Potty-what?" Lexi asked.
"Potymelian," Sonya corrected. "Although I've never heard of that language before."
"Neither have I," Laxus added.
"It's a rare one," Levy said with a shrug.
"But now that you've figured that out, do you know what it says?" Lucy asked.
"Time ticks forward, on towards inevitable chaos," Levy read aloud. The room fell silent before Lexi let out a little whimper and shrank into herself.
"That sounds scary," she squeaked.
"Downright creepy," Sonya agreed.
"But...I know I've heard it somewhere before," Lucy said, earning her a wide-eyed stare from her Pack. The blonde woman went over to her shelves and looked through the books, muttering which ones it wasn't until she came across the spine at last. "Here it is! I found it!" she cheered. "I knew I read that phrase before and it's somewhere in this book!" she declared.
"What's the book about?" Sonya asked.
"Basically, it's about an old clock that passes from one owner to the next over a long period of time and a lot of mysterious stuff happens to it over time...Uh."
"What?" Laxus asked.
"I think I get it guys," Lucy said as she looked at the front cover.
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked. Lucy turned the book around and let the others look at the picture on the front. One by one, their eyes widened. Looking back at them was an orange clock face with hands that looked all too much like the memento. "It's more than some random object. It's the hand of a clock!"
Erik couldn't help a small chuckle as he relaxed into the wall of the alcove he and Sorano shared.
"How are you feeling after yesterday?" the white-haired woman asked as she leaned against his legs so her arms rested on his knees.
"Honestly? A part of me feels disgusted with what we've done. But after seeing Rose again, hearing her voice, feeling her warmth..." Sorano smiled and placed a hand on Erik's unscarred cheek. "How do you think it happened? I mean...I watched her die myself."
"There were purple flames around her. Either it was a fox playing a trick, or someone out there is finally on our side and decided you deserved to see her again, pulled her from the Netherworld and gave her temporary form to keep you going."
"I kinda like that last one more," the redhead said. Sorano chuckled lightly. "What about you? Feeling okay?"
"Yes. Don't worry. Once we've obtained our goal, we'll be able to reverse the damages caused by the injustices done to us. No Tower of Heaven, no Brain, no imprisonment. Everything we've wanted and lost will be returned to us." Erik offered the woman a slight smile and placed his hand on the top of her head.
"I can hear your excitement. Not only for Yukino and our Little Dreamer, but to see Alexis be born and grow up."
"And you're saying you're not?" Sorano asked with a chuckle. "You can't hide anything from me, Erik. I know you're excited as well."
"With someone like Rose being my Mate, how can I not be? I keep thinking about what Alexis' voice is going to sound like when she starts talking, who's Magic she'll start using, what she's going to look like as she grows up." Sorano let out another chuckle.
"And to think, you promised our dear Little Dreamer that she and I would be the only ones you'll love." Erik let out his own chuckle.
"I'll be able to change that once we get our hands on the Infinity Clock."
Justie: Ah. Another chapter done. This one was fun to do. We needed some conflict in our little Pack. Let's face it, Lucy can be pretty stubborn when she wants to be and Laxus has already proven he's stubborn as a black bear (where does that even come from?). So Laxus would see the danger in keeping the clock hand while Lucy would want to hold onto what her father had given her. Thus, clash.
Please leave a review if you liked, constructive criticism, anything but flames as those will go in the fireplace where they belong.