Good evening! At least that's what it is here an Wisconsin. This is pretty early, because of all the patience you've had with me. My semster is winding down, and I've got A's in all my college courses, which hasn't been easy! It wouldn't be so bad, but after I graduated with a normal Associates Degree, I went to a UW school to do something I hated, because they told me not to work in Early Childhood Education, but after one semester at UW Platteville I knew I wanted to work with kids not crapy adults (sorry, I'm sure you're all lovely people). So know I'm at a tech school to get degree #2 in Early Childhood Education. I plan to work with Preschoolers, which is my favorite age. Ayways, it's been busy. Hope you all enjoy this! I love the ending of this chapter! Be prepared from so badass friendship building!
They had all been dreading this day. They had all wanted this day to never come, but as they all stood at the train station, they knew it was time. The slayers had been extra touchy feely, even Cobra was refusing to let his mate walk out of his arms. They all were too scared to even speak. There wasn't a ton of laugher or anything. It was like a grim feeling was over them.
Laxus was scared shitless. His wife was off to a battle that he wouldn't be there for. He couldn't sweep in and save her if things got back. He had to trust Gajeel, which he did. Gajeel had proven himself to be a great friend, to all of them. He knew he'd keep his wife safe, since she's keeping his safe. It didn't make it easier though. Sadly Laxus' team was the first to leave. Natsu was nuzzling into Lisanna, trying to keep her calm. He had it the worst. He had already watched Lis die. He already felt the pain of his mate's death. Not even Igneel could console him. Laxus pulled his mate into a tight hug.
"I love you more than this unfair life. I'll come home to you, like I always will, and we'll have all the kids you want. We can start having them right away, or we can wait a bit, or we…we can," his words died off as tears sprung to his eyes. "Damn you." He said softly. Lucy had held it together quite well, until her mate started to tear up.
"Gajeel's got my back." She whispered.
"I know, it just," he was cut off by his wife.
"Doesn't make it easier? I know you have a strong team, but they want us dead. They want you dead. Please be safe. Don't play the damn hero. Don't get yourself killed trying to be Mr. Big Guy. Stay calm, and smart. Rely on your team. You've got Bickslow. He'll take care of you. And you can show that Lightning God, what a real Lightning mage can do." The couple chuckled a moment. Laxus wiped the tears from under Lucy's eyes. In return she wiped his.
"Don't do anything stupid either. Be smart and tactful. Do everything you and Levy have discussed. Even the thing I hate. I'm glad I won't be there to see it."
"You're my one and only. Forever." They kissed softly as they called Laxus and Natsu's train. "I love you. Now go! Go kick some ass, and come home to make babies with me. And get a damn dog!" She giggled through her tears, taking a shaky breath. "Go be my big bad slayer. I'll see you on the battlefield." He couldn't speak. He feared he'd lose it. He nodded and started walking away, but quickly turned around and ran to her. He kissed her hotly in front of everyone. She kissed him back just as hard. She pushed him away from her. "Go. Let that fuel you."
"Will do, Blondie." He walked away from her, clenching his chest. That was it, he was off to fight. He didn't know how he was going to get through this, but he was going too. Then he was going to start a life with her, and they were going to make everything they lose worth it.
"You okay Bunny? Lisanna?" Gajeel asked. "I went through this, just remember that. I know how shitty this is."
"I'll be okay. I think." Lisanna said modestly. Even she was breaking down on the inside.
"I get what Levy said now." Lucy said, causing the whole group to look at her. "The whole, I haven't had enough time thing. I haven't had enough time with him. I don't know that I ever will, but this just has to push us further. We need to just stay strong. There is no room for error. We need to fight, and fight with everything we've got."
"It's still gonna suck." Sting said, nuzzling his mate. Cobra and Kinana were saying goodbye to each other, as the next train showed up. Gajeel pulled Wendy into a big hug.
"Stay strong, Squirt. Stay safe, and keep him in line. Make sure you get to fight just as hard as everyone else. Give a few extra punches for Levy."
"I will Gajeel!" Wendy said enthusiastically. "Keep Levy on your mind, she'll be cheering you on in the Celestial World!" Wendy let go of Gajeel, and he tussled her hair before she ran to catch up with Cobra, who just smiled at the young mage.
Rogue's team was next, and they were all ready for this fight. Lucy hugged Lisanna tightly. Lucy whispered a few comforting words into Lisanna's ear. It seemed to put her at ease. Then with a small sob, Lis let go of her and waved goodbye.
Gajeel was looking at his team. They all looked on edge, hell, he was on edge. This wasn't going to work out if none of them had the spark to fight. "We need to snap out of this." He looked at Lucy and Yukino in particular. "We'll come home to our mates, and everything will be fine. You guys can start having babies, and it'll be fine. My Shrimp will come home, and everything will go back to as normal as it can be for mages. Just please, if you guys can't snap out of it, how am I supposed too?"
"I'm so sorry Gajeel." Yukino said. "I'm going to just need the train ride to Gandena, then I think we'll all fight with a new vigor. We'll get this job done, and come home."
"She's right. We just need a moment." Lucy said. Their train pulled in, and the girls promised themselves they'd be okay, for Gajeel's sake. They had no choice. He needed them. Yukino may not know him supper well, but she knew he was a good man. A great man, even if he had been mean in the past. He made it all up to them. He was one of the greatest fathers she had ever seen. She hadn't been around many dad's but she knew from how crappy a lot of her friends' fathers were, and he was nothing like that. So, she'd pick up her pieces and make him feel like he had a superior team.
In the Celestial Realm, Levy sat with the dragons watching at the mates and slayers say goodbye. She turned to Perun. "They've got this. I know they do."
"Levy," Perun started, but she cut him off.
"They are all destroyed. They look like shit now, but the moment they get to their cities you'll see it. You'll see what our bonds can do. You all will. Have a little faith in your brats."
"She's got a point." Igneel said. He was a tall man, with fire red hair. He was slightly muscular, and had brown eyes. She hadn't gotten to talk to him much since arriving, because he had been taking care of other business. "Our boys, and even Wendy, have a fire under their ass. They will fight and fight hard. They don't need our doubts. I'm sure they're scared enough. We've got to trust in them like they've trusted in us over the years."
"Gajeel needs Lucy to step up." Metelicana said. This man was huge! And scary looking. He looked a lot like Gajeel, it was scary. He didn't have any piercings, but he had Gajeel's eyes. It was a nice comfort to have him here with her. They had talked quite a bit, when she wasn't with Perun, she was with him.
"Lu will. You all know that. She's the leader. Laxus may also be a leader, but Lu is the main reason we know we can live this. Lu is our secret weapon. I have a feeling it's because she's the one that can summon dragons?" Levy smirked at all of them. "I'm not dumb! I know more than you'd like me too."
"No more library for her." Metalicana chuckled. "It's not that she can summon dragons. It's that she can open a gate for us to come through and kill these dark mages."
"But one of the slayer's possess something different, don't they? Something they don't know about, or maybe chose to block out. One of them has some secret weapon, that they won't know they have until it's time." They all looked at her puzzled. "I don't know who, but someone out there on our side has something more powerful under their belt." They all studied her. "We don't need to speak on it yet, just a realization I'm having. I think I know who as well, but I'll hold on to that for myself. For now, I need to go call my slayer, and make sure his head's in the right place." She excused herself and left the room.
"This is why we needed her here." Loke said.
Laxus was texting Lucy, while trying to make light conversation with his new team. Bickslow was sitting next to him, with Gray by the window. Orga and Natsu were on the other side. Natsu was glued to his phone. No one was getting through to that man.
"How have things been, see you bagged the hottest woman in world." Orga said with a smirk.
"Isn't that supposed to be Mira?" Gray asked.
"No. To a lot of nonmages it's Mira, but to mages, Lucy's the hottest thing there is."
"Yeah." Laxus said with a spark in his eyes. "My wife is the sexiest thing that's ever walked this Earthland. She's got the hips of a gypsy, and the tits of a goddess. However, she's so much more than that. Even I'm still learning how far her love and kindness goes. She's the only one for me, and she's why I'm fighting this battle as hard as I am. I want to get back, and start a family."
"You can Cos want a baby after this?" Bickslow asked.
"Yeah, and right away. Fucking Levy and Gajeel put all of us in baby fever."
"I think all slayers will start having babies after this. I think it's just what's going to happen." Natsu said, looking up from his phone. "It has to do with the fact that our mate bonds have now been tested. We feel the need to start having kids, and making things better for us. We need to make sure that we have the safest environment for our children. This whole fight revolves around our kids, which brought up all these feelings. Laxus was too scared to have kids a couple months ago, now he's ready. And that's just how the bond works."
"I think she's ready." Gray said. "And no hard feelings man. Erza's the one that went psycho. I knew early that morning that you guys were mates, because Natsu and I went over to her place to make sure she made it home safe. It wasn't the first time we had done it either. I'm happy for you guys, and especially her. She's been hurt so much in her short life. It just makes me happy to see you interact with her. The love you hold for her, I can only dream of someday."
"You have no idea." Bickslow said. "The way he melts into her hands like putty is the most vulnerable I've ever seen him. It's like she takes care of him in ways that no one else can. It's cute and sweet. It makes me believe there's someone out there for me as well." He paused. "Maybe the slayers are teaching the playboys what love is. I mean if Laxus can be a one girl kinda guy, we all can." Laxus chuckled.
"Takes the right person."
Cobra was sitting with his eyes closed. He was listening around the train for anything out of ordinary. Wendy and Mira were talking about how much fun it was going to be to have the babies born. Jet and Dobengal were talking magic. His phone buzzed, and he knew it was from Kinana. He quickly opened it. She had to stay back at the guild for a day or two, to finish perfecting her technique. Then Loke and another spirit will escort her to Laxus. It was the final part of their eavesdropping. They needed her to pull through, and they knew she was freaking out.
They texted a bit before Wendy asked Cobra,
"How old were you when you were implanted?" Had anyone but this small girl asked, he would have snapped and told them none of their business, but he thought maybe opening up about that wouldn't be so bad. It wasn't like it was his whole history, just a small part.
"I was about six. I know Laxus was about that age too. I think it was the minimum age that you could be implanted. And it screws with your genetics, so you're really sick all the time. It's the only thing I can remember from six to seven. It was just the pain, and then the fact the dragon was in your head was awful. There was no way to tell what was me at first. It was scary. I just remember mom saying it'd be better tomorrow, but that didn't happen for almost a year and a half."
"That must have been hard." Mira said tapping her chin. "When did you find Kinana?"
"When I was ten." That's all he was saying on that one. They all caught the way he shut down. They all went back to talking amongst themselves. Wendy was proud though. He was starting to let some walls down, and that was a major plus. She got a text from Romeo, and she giggled.
Rogue and his team we silent. None of them wanted to speak, even Lisanna. There wasn't much to say. Sting and Rogue had tried to talk, but they just couldn't this was all too scary for them. Finally, Erza broke the silence.
"It'll be okay. It really will. You've got two of the strongest guilds by your side, and a few stray mages on backup. We'll be okay. It all will. We've got you. You guys will get the life you deserve." Lisanna rolled her eyes. It was uncharacteristic of Lisanna to be mean and vengeful, but Erza had hurt one of her newest best friends. "Lis," Erza said softly.
"Listen. I'm already on edge. I'm upset and sad. I had to leave my Natsu for the time being. I'm overemotional and it just want to run away from this problem. But I refuse to think you're all on board with this. You have no idea how much Laxus worships Lucy. You're not part of our group, so you don't have any clue. But their love is something so sweet, and powerful. It's exhilarating to see people so in love with each other. It's baffling how she tamed him, and how he calms her. We all like to say that she calmed the storm in him, but gosh they do it for each other. Laxus opened up to Lucy. Like full blown, told her things that would make you think Laxus wasn't Laxus. He told her when he fell for her, in front of all of us. He kisses her with such love and adoration. Their love is a little odd, sure, but aren't all mates just the same way? Don't you all see our bonds as weird? People have said that for years. And it's true. It really is, but our love goes deeper than most peoples on this planet. We're bound for life. There are no divorces, or separations for us. It's all pure and happy love. And we fight sometimes, but at the end of the night we know we have each other for life. We know where our home is. And right now, our homes are away from us. And we're going insane! I need Natsu!" Lisanna finally broke. Sting pulled her into his arms to comfort her. She turned into him to cry into his shirt.
"It's going to be okay. Stay strong." Sting said softly.
"I-I already lost him once. I can't again. I can't. There's no Edoless anymore. If we die, then we're dead. And I don't want to die, or him die, or anyone die! I just want to get back home, so I can watch my guild grow, and see more of my family that I haven't seen in over six years! I want time with them, and Natsu, and the whole guild. But it's hard to feel like we're all family, when my closest friend is being scrutinized because she and a great man fell in love! Because that's what he is! A great man! And the only one that makes her go weak in the knees. The one that she wants to spend forever with. And that's beautiful."
"I-I know. I just worry about her." Erza said softly.
"Don't Erza. She's in the world's greatest hands. He's got her back like no one before."
Gajeel looked at his team. He had to have Cana? She wasn't letting any of them have a moment of peace. She was as energetic as ever. She was cracking jokes, while drinking her beer.
"Oh come on princess tits!" Cana begged. "How big it is?!" Lucy laughed genuinely for probably the first time in days.
"NO!" She yelled playfully.
"Fine Gajeel," he stopped her right there.
"My wife may be a dimension away, but if you so much as ask how big my dick is, she'll jump dimensions, and kill us all."
"Yukino!" Cana whined. "I just wanna know how big a slayer's package is!"
"Not happening!" Yukino said sternly. "I'm extremely possessive of my mate. He's my everything, and whatever he looks like naked is for me, myself, and I only. He's my sexy husband. Not telling plus. How would I know how many inches he is, it's not like I take out a tape measure and measure it every time we have sex?"
"But damn is the sex with a slayer good." Lucy said with a giggle. Rufus and Gajeel exchanged a look of horror it was going to be a long couple of weeks.
"Do you think Rogue would,"
"NO!" Lucy and Yukino yelled.
"You'll stay the hell away from him. He's off limits Cana!" Yukino said sternly. "My best friend isn't for your entertainment. He doesn't do one-night stands or anything like that. He and Levy both value their virginity highly. It's not something he just wants to give to a, no offence, whore." Cana slumped in her seat.
"Should have seduced Laxus when I had a chance."
"But you didn't." Lucy sang.
"Oh shut it! You could just share!"
"Abso-fucking-lutly not! He's mine. I worked for that body. You can however have the lightning god slayer."
"You just want him off your back." Cana said rolling her eyes. It was true Orga had pursued Lucy pretty hard after the Grand Magic Games, but she didn't tell Laxus that. She couldn't now either, Orga was on his team, and they needed that powerhouse team.
"Off your back?" Gajeel asked. Amused. "He has a thing for you? And he's with Laxus? Oh boy, this will be interesting." He chuckled.
"He laid off." Rufus said defending his teammate.
"True." Was all Lucy said.
"THIS BITES! SOMEONE GET ME A SLAYER TO FUCK!" The group laughed at Cana's obsession with seeing a slayer's member. It was just too entertaining.
Cana, however, wasn't making these jokes because she really wanted to see a slayer's member. Well, she kinda did. But most of this was to make these people laugh. They needed a little laughter, and she'd gladly look like a dork to make them smile. It was like she needed to make Lucy okay. Lucy had helped her through some tough things, now she was just returning the favor. She may not know Yukino well, but even she seemed nice. And Levy was one of her first friends. She'd do anything to make this group stay lighthearted, and fun. They could beat this without needing to be too depressed and scared. They were mages after all. This was nothing they couldn't beat.