Bickslow had left his home in nothing short of an ill mood and sharp temper. The combination of anxiety and annoyance sitting heavily on his chest as he made his way to Porlyusica's home, opting to travel as quickly as he could as he leapt and bounded from his totems. When he had finally made it to the older woman's home, he stood in front of the door. His thoughts bouncing between simply calling everything quits for his own temporary sanity, or risking what ever chaos was set to come. Neither option seeming better than the other. "Is there a reason you are standing there?" he heard Porlyusica say. Her annoyed tone breaking his concentration. He stood upright, turning around slowly as he saw Porlyusica make her way down the path towards her home. A smug grin crossing his face, Bickslow answered, "Said I'd be back with more, didn't I? You know I'm not one to miss a date with you." The older woman closed her eyes before glaring at Bickslow. The seith mage doing what he could to give off that cool and collected composure. Porlyusica, not even for a second, fell for his act. She moved quickly, closing the gap between the two of them quite uncomfortably as she unclipped his mask from his face. She looked over his facial features, scanning every detail before handing his mask back to him. "You've worn yourself thin boy." she said, gesturing for him to move to the side as she opened the door leading into her home. "Eh. Just another day in paradise as far as I'm concerned" he answered, following her in slowly. Porlyusica walked throughout her home, burning a variety of different oils before walking back over to Bickslow, and asking for the contents he had brought. The smells that filled the air, stinging Bickslow's eyes as he teared up at the sensation. Handing the bags he had brought with him over to the older woman, he quickly took off his mask and rubbed his eyes furiously, doing anything he could to get rid of the stinging sensation.
"Take a seat." Porlyusica said as she walked away, bags in tow. Bickslow readily nodded, opting to sit down exactly where he stood. With every breath he took in, the stinging sensation intensified. "What the hell are you burning exactly?" Bickslow asked. The feelings in his eyes beginning to drive his already ill mood over the edge. Porlyusica spoke out, a sort of smugness in her tone. "Nothing that someone like you shouldn't be well accustomed to already. And WHY are you sitting on the floor!?" Continuing to rub his eyes, Bickslow did his best to look up at her, inhaling and coughing as he did so. "You said take a seat, didn't you? I don't understand why it's burning..." The older woman walked over to him, standing over him as he began to struggle for air and held his hands over his eyes. "You've dabbled into stupidity, haven't you boy?" she asked him sternly, already certain of his answer. "Does that really come as a surprise to ya there Porly?" he replied, standing up quickly and beginning to pace the floor in small circles "It's me we're talkin' about here. Don't exactly follow conventional rules here." Porlyusica shook her head, sighing as she walked away, bringing the bags back when she returned. "These are not a match, boy. Find another." she said to him. The seith mage shook his head, huffing out air as he laughed. "Can't. No time. Water your flowers with that shit." he said peering out at her from behind his hands, his eyes visibly reddened, as the whites no longer appeared to even exist. "You understand that it's your own stupidity and selfishness that's going to be the end of you." she said coldly "I suggest you make peace with yourself. Find something to believe in before you go." Bickslow laughed loudly at the suggestion, moving his hands from his stinging eyes to speak with her. "What? You mean like a freakin' deity or a religion? You're kidding, right?" he said as continued laughing walking out of her home, bowing out as he left "...can't no preacher man save my soul."
Porlyusica watched as Bickslow quickly bounded away from her home. "These humans...so stubborn and stupid at times. They never learn." The air in her home lightening significantly as she listened closely to the hoofbeats falling slowly next to her before fading.
"Where did you go Lissy? Were you at least safe?" Mira asked her sister, beginning her cascade of question on her younger sister. "We just went out of town for a couple of contracts Mira. And obviously we were safe. We'd be dead otherwise." Lisanna smiled out, grabbing a tray full of drinks and moving about the guild happily, helping her sister serve beverages to the other guildmates. "I wish you would have told me you were leaving so suddenly...I would have at least given you and...Bickslow...some provisions." the oldest Strauss said, faking a smile as she spoke. Her feeling towards the seith mage still completely uncertain. Lisanna having literally moved out involuntarily, disappearing randomly, failing to show up for her shifts at the guild, and keeping secrets beginning to eat away at Mira finally. Words spread like wildfire around the guild, and a certain celestial mage and blue cat wasted no time in whispering loudly to their peers. "Doesn't matter now Mira" Lisanna smiled out "We're home now and everything is fine." she continued as she leaned heavily onto her sister, wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulder tightly as her smile widened. Lisanna's behavior seeming relatively odd for her character as she continued off, helping her sister and Kinana maintain the bar for several more hours as late afternoon rolled in. Her chipper demeanor feeling like a welcome, although strange change.
Bickslow walked into the guild, being sure to sneak in as unnoticed as possible. Scanning the room, he immediately noticed Lisanna busy at work with her sister. The other members of the guild occupied in their own little cliques and circles as the guild slowly became louder and busier. He searched for the rest of the Raijinshu, spotting them situated in their usual spot and made his way towards them. As he did, Cana quickly called him out, making his stealthy moves very much known. "And if it isn't the man of the hour. Just gonna walk in without saying 'hello' to any of us Bickslow? You stole our favorite little lady away from us aftercall." she said as she quickly gained the attention of any an everyone in the guild momentarily. Feeling every eye fixed on him daggering their way under his skin, he extended his arms widely as he let his tongue fall from his mouth. "Hello fellow members of Fairy Tail. Did ya miss me?!" he said before wrapping his arm heavily around Cana and bringing her in closely. "I think YOU definitely must've missed me since, ya know, you're here now." he said to her devilishly as he manically smiled down at her. The daggers burrowing under his skin disappearing as the other guild members looked away from the scene unfolding. Looking through the bars of his mask, he could see Lisanna smiling at him from her place near the bar as she began to move about again. He could also see Mira, her mouth smiling at him while her eyes glared at him. "Yeah yeah yeah. Don't make this weird Bicks." Cana said to him "You and I need to have a little talk." she continued. Bickslow's tongue returning to its place behind his teeth as he continued smiling while standing back upright. "About what exactly?" he asked her, wishing he could be seated at his table with his comrades, or even standing at the bar with Lisanna. Gesturing with her hands to follow her, Cana led the way up the stairs into the infirmary room.
"Look Bickslow. I don't know what exactly it is you're up to lately, but the cards aren't speaking in favor of you." she said as she shut the door to the infirmary. Bickslow laughed under his breath. "That's great. Tell me somethin' I don't know. Why exactly are you runnin' cards on me, for instance, would be good." he said to her. Annoyed that she would use them to pry into his affairs without even asking. "Look, I have just as many bets in the pool as everyone else, so if I can get some sort of advantage, I'm going to take it." Cana answered as she took a drink from the mug she had in her hand "Besides. I didn't think you would care." Bickslow stretched his arms up cracking his wrists and elbows before cracking his neck and shaking his limbs out and smiling at her. "You aren't wrong. What exactly is it that your cards are 'saying' then." he asked as he placed he hands behind his head. Bad news seemed to be the theme of the day, so what's the worst that the cards could possibly have in store for him. "Honestly, I'm not really sure what they are trying to say. Everything looked great which, here you go by the way before I forget..." she said as she tossed him a small bag full of jewel she had won before continuing "...but then, it all got jumbled up and nothing short of chaotic. Lots of dark things. Know anything about that?" Bickslow fidgeted with his fingers behind his head, listening to the air around his totems shift. "Sure do. Your cards are smokin' something great and I want what ever it is they are on." he said sarcastically, attempting to dismiss the pseudo prediction as he walked towards the door and prepared to open it. "Seriously Bickslow. What is it you're up to exactly?" Cana asked, placing her palm flat against the door, preventing him from opening the door up. Her face twisted with concern as she stared down the seith mage. Bickslow smiled wildly at her, slamming both arms down by either side of her head and getting eye level with her. "None of your business. Now move." he said to her, his totems all lining up on either side of him as the air around him dropped into something far more aggressive. "Oh please dickhead. Like you would do anything. Why are you getting so defensive?" Cana said to him, completely unfazed by his actions as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Cause I'm sick of everyone meddling and hounding. It's gettin' old." he said to her before catching a glimpse of Lisanna through the infirmary window on the door. He sighed, heavily as he watched Lisanna moving closer towards the room. Dropping his head down, he spoke again. "Look. If I'm bein' honest, I don't know what's going on at this point, and I've kinda just realized that I bit way more off than I can chew and I don't really know what exactly to do. I mean, I know what I'm gonna do, but I don't know how it's gonna go. I Just want to enjoy the rest of this day with as little bullshit as possible which is basically not gonna happen it seems. So...just...I dunno. Sorry." Cana looked into her now empty mug. Smirking at him. "What do cards know Bickslow. Not the first time they've been wrong about things. Keep your creeper self-smiling wontcha? Besides. I'm pooling in a lot because of you right now. Don't screw up my winnings." Bickslow looked up, smiling as he moved away from Cana, watching as the card holder moved to the side and as Lisanna walked in.
Lisanna watched as the pair walked slowly up the stairs and shut the door to the infirmary. Given their history, her own curiosity peaked slightly. "Hey Mira, I'll be right back." she said moving away from the bar and up the stairs. "Their probably just talking" she thought to herself as she made her way up the stairs. She heard slamming against the door and quickened her pace slightly, seeing Bickslow through the small window on the door. Despite his mask obstructing his features, she could tell he had been watching her before he dropped his head. A few moments later, she opened the door. Both Cana and Bickslow stood smiling at her. "What's going on guys?" Lisanna asked the two of them as Bickslow dropped his arms heavily around her shoulders. "Nothin' sweet cheeks. Just having a chat." Bickslow said, planting a kiss on the back of Lisanna's head. "Nothing worth talking about anyway Lissy. I owed him some money was all." Cana said as she stole Lisanna away from Bickslow, lazily wrapping an arm around the youngest Strauss as the three of them walked out of the infirmary. "You couldn't do that downstairs?" Lisanna responded as Cana dragged her down the stairs, Bickslow following closely behind the two of them. "No way. You start flashing jewel around here and everyone you owe money to comes crawling." Cana said loudly as she laughed. Bickslow laughed quietly under his breath. Hopping over the railing of the stairs and making his way to sit by the rest of the Raijinshu. "Has...everything been okay with you two?" Cana asked as her and Lisanna watched Bickslow seat himself heavily, kicking his feet up on the table before Freed pushed them off. "Yeah. They've been fine. Nothing too out of the ordinary really." Lisanna responded. A blatant lie, but it would pass under the radar safely. Cana removed her arm as she and Lisanna came up to the bar, placing her empty mug on the bar top before signaling for another. "What ever you say sweet stuff." Cana then said smiling as Lisanna went back to working and helping her sister.
The guild became busier and busier as time passed. Lisanna, Mira, and Kinana all rushing back and forth between patrons. "Lisanna, stay here for a second. I need to take this to Laxus and the rest of Raijinshu." Mira said. Lisanna hesitantly nodded but readily smiled back at her sister. Carrying a tray full of drinks and some food, Mira made her way over to the group, stopping by Laxus and handing the rest of them their requested items. Laxus closing his eyes as Mira, lightly ran her hand over his shoulder. "Bickslow, can I speak with you?" she asked him as neutral as possible. Rolling his eyes before placing his face down on the table top he thought to himself "What now" before sitting up and answering the oldest Strauss. "Sure. Why not." He stood up quickly, though annoyed being sure to follow her closely through the guild as she walked outside.
"What is it that you need Ms. Strauss." he said to her as he leaned heavily against the walls outside the guild. "Honestly Bickslow, I'm not happy with you. I'm not okay with what's been going on the past couple of weeks with you and Lisanna and for her to disappear with you without giving a clue as to where...You two are stirring rumors." she said to him as her expression sat softly on her face doing her best to be nonconfrontational. "Oh, you don't say? Never would have guessed that much. And here I thought you were here to bless the marriage and send us off to live happily ever after. Ya know, for the queen of rumors and gossip, you sure seem unable to deal with rumors sitting close to home. Speaks a lot about your character." Bickslow responded as his totems repeated happily after him as Mira cringed slightly at the words. That was the last thing on her mind. "Be serious for a second please Bickslow." she said before being cut off by the seith mage as he proceeded to loom over her. "Baby, I'm always serious. If that's all you wanna talk about, then I thank you for wasting my time with shit I already knew. Day is so full of surprises, I don't know how I can contain myself..." he said as he leveled his own eye level with her's as he backed her up against a wall, casually placing a hand high above her head. "Bickslow, you need to lose the attitude right now. Seriously. It isn't called for, regardless of how you feel about the situation." Mira insisted, maintaining her composure easily despite the seith mage's usual attempts at intimidation. Bickslow tilted his head to the side as he spoke, "You're kidding me, right? I'm gonna have an 'attitude' because of how I feel about the situation" straightening his back and returning back to the wall he leaned on, he continued "You'd be smart to understand that the second I don't give a fuck is the second you should really be worried." He slowly pulled out a cigarette and simply stared at Mira in silence. The two of them merely stood quietly. Tension thick enough to be cut with a knife while Bickslow finished the cigarette. "Look...Bicks...I just want Lisanna to come home. You two can keep on doing...who knows what...but I want her home." Mira said calmly as she turned to stare off into the distance. Bickslow huffed under his breath as he flicked the cigarette butt away from himself. "...wish granted..." he said to her looking towards the sun that was settling itself for the day. Mira turned to him slowly. "Is she coming home tonight then?" she asked the seith mage. Bickslow breathed in deeply as he turned to walk back inside. "Give me tonight Mira. She'll be back home tomorrow and you guys can be one big happy family again, alright? I'll stay outta your way too." he hesitantly reached out towards the guild hall doors, opening them widely and gesturing for Mira to walk in, something she readily did.
Some time had passed and Lisanna had finished her partial shift at the guild with her sister and Kinana. She happily made her way over to Bickslow, seating herself next to him heavily, immediately gaining his attention. Freed passed a smirk to her as he acknowledged her seating herself at the table. Laxus simply sat with his arms crossed over his chest, opening an eye momentarily. Evergreen nodded her head before looking over towards Elfman, and rising from her own seat to go to him. "I think I'm ready to go home Bicks." Lisanna said, leaning her head onto his shoulder. The seith mage nodded at her request. "Yeah. Me too." he responded, rising from the table and quietly walking out of the door with Lisanna. The youngest Strauss hooked around his arm as they stepped out into the night.
"You know sweet cheeks. Your sister wants you home pretty badly. You should probably go home tomorrow." Bickslow said, walking slowly as figures began to whip into form in the shadows, maintaining their distance from the pair. Lisanna clutched onto his arm tighter. "You know, I don't know if I want to just yet. I'm actually enjoying our little hostage situation." she said jokingly to him. Bickslow laughed at the words. Their situation was certainly similar to a hostage situation in a sense, though he'd put Orobas in order to alleviate that. "Well as long as you're enjoying it. Given any thought to taking those pills?" he then asked her. A piece of him still hoping in a way that she would pick up the slack on his own irresponsible actions. Her smile never leaving her face for even a second as they walked on. "I did. And I mean, if you don't care, I guess I don't either. Guess we'll just have to see what happens." she said without missing a beat. Bickslow smirked outwardly, but internally, immediately began cringing and slamming a fist against his head. "You don't think somethin' like that could REALLY fuck you over? Kids change everything if it happens you know." he said to her knowing that he'd already forfeited any chance at an argument. "I'm sure they could, but I guess life's just full of risks. So, at this point, there is no sense in not taking them. I mean, I took a risk just hanging out with you, and so far, it seems to be worth it. Or at least I think it's worth it." she said to him as him home slowly came in to view. Bickslow nodded agreeing with the last half of her statement as they walked silently to his home.
The moment the pair entered the home, Bickslow immediately busied himself in the bedroom. He was reaching beneath his bed, grabbing several small chests from underneath it. "What are you doing Bicks?" Lisanna asked, curious at his actions, watching as he pulled out a variety of different burners from each chest. "Gettin' ready to really piss off the other side. Remember? The entire reason you're here with me." he responded to her as he set all the burners in various places in the bedroom. Lisanna sat on the bed, watching him move methodically around before reaching into his dresser and grabbing a black box full of resins and dried plants and placing them each next to the burners. Slow rolling thunder was beginning to make its way into the night. Adding a slight bit of discomfort to the ever-tensing air. Bickslow, satisfied with how everything appeared, landed heavily on the bed. Stretching his arms out, he quickly brought Lisanna down with him. "You should know Lisanna. This isn't gonna be fun. Probably won't even be a good time." he said to her, staring up at the blue ceiling. She nodded as she began to try and unclip his mask. "I figured as much, but you know, I don't think it'll be all that bad." she said as she started to pull his mask off before being stopped. "I don't think that's a good idea right now sweet cheeks." he said to her, hesitant to remove the metal article. "Oh, and why not exactly?" she asked him curious as to why he would turn down having anything removed. He sighed. "'Cause it's been a long, LONG day and I'm pretty sure my eyes are toasted." Lisanna chuckled lightly as she sat up and removed his mask. "Oh please. I'm sure it's not all that ba..." her words trailed off. She'd gotten used to seeing his eyes bloodshot, but these were abnormally red. The whites no longer existing what so ever. The dark red of his irises contrasting only slightly against the inflamed vessels. "Wasn't kidding sweet cheeks. Fried." he said jokingly as he rose from the bed, taking his mask with him and beginning to undress. "W-what happened?" Lisanna asked as she stood up quickly from the bed grabbing his face and bringing it down to her's to get a better look at his eyes. The action making Bickslow fumble slightly. "I told ya. Long day. Now get comfortable. YOU need to go to sleep...or at least lay there with your eyes closed." he said to her as he took his face back from her. "Don't you think you should relax first before we do anything Bickslow?" Lisanna asked, hesitant to move away from him "Can't this wait till tomorrow?" No sooner than she spoke, did the figures outside begin slamming their hands against the windows. Bickslow's home seeming to groan agonizingly under each hit. "That answer your question sweet cheeks? Now go lay down." Bickslow laughed out as he walked around to each burner and beginning to burn the various resins and plants.
Bickslow moved around his home, shutting down every light that was on, and darkening the home as best as possible. Lisanna crawled into the bed as the smells from all the burning materials filled the air. "How exactly am I supposed to relax" she said as the windows continued to be slammed against violently. Bickslow moved into the bed with Lisanna. "Easily. I just need you to breathe slowly and close your eyes." he said to her, placing his hands tightly over her ears as she complied. He closed his eyes while they both lay there, hands cupped tightly against her ears. The strong smells filling the home as the slamming stopped. Silence eventually taking over everything. He placed his forehead against hers, concentrating as hard as he could. His eyes firing green beneath their lids as he focused. Only a few beads of sweat leaving his forehead as he did. His thoughts beginning to bounce between reality and thoughts of where he should be. Views of burning and rot starting to fill his mind as his stomach turned. Lights dancing in his head as his ears started to ring loudly. Quickly, he removed his hands from her ears. "Do you trust me?" he asked Lisanna. The youngest Strauss nodding readily. "Of course I do. Why?" she asked him. Bickslow smirked in the dark. "Good. Turn around and keep your eyes closed, okay?" he said. Lisanna immediately doing so. "It's quiet now." she said as she faced the other, feeling Bickslow nod as he pulled her into him, wrapping his legs tightly around hers as he moved an arm beneath her head and resting the other on her hip. "Yeah. It is." he said quietly. Without warning, he covered Lisanna's eyes with his forearm and used his free hand to cover her mouth and nose. Wrapping his legs around hers tightly to keep her from struggling. Unable to see, breathe, or move, Lisanna began to struggle, clawing at his hands in an attempt to free herself and suck in any bit of air that she could. Her screaming muffled out by his hand as he cranked her head back slightly, never letting his forearm uncover her eyes. He reluctantly held on as she tore into his skin, trying desperately to get out of his grip. "I know this is fucked up Lisanna, but I don't know any other way to do this." Bickslow shouted through his teeth as he held on tight, guilt and regret making him sick to his stomach. Her attempts getting weaker and weaker as she stopped fighting as hard. Limbs going limp as her body instinctively began trying to suck in air, only to have any air obstructed by Bickslow. Certain she'd stopped fighting, Bickslow brought both of them to a seated position. Lisanna's limp body moving easily. He pulled her up to his chest, moving his arm from her eyes and placing his hand over her heart, feeling for anything. The moment he felt the almost ceasing heartbeat, he quickly put her down and straddled her, staring into the nearly lifeless eyes, keeping his hand firm against her airways until the beating stopped. His eyes flashing green as his stomach twisted.
His bed beginning to feel unusually soft as he felt himself being pulled down into it. The smell around him changing to sulfur and burning. "This is so fucked up" he said out loud as he focused his eyes to the surrounding area. Lisanna's limp body lying on the flesh like ground below her. The red sky making everything around them a similar shade. "You need to wake up now Lisanna" he said loudly, shaking her by the shoulders. She wasn't responding to him. Frantically, he began trying to resuscitate her, pushing on her chest and doing his best to share what ever air he had in his own lungs with her. "C'mon. This ain't the place to be doin' this shit Lisanna. Wake the fuck up." he shouted at her, trying desperately to get her to wake up. The sounds of screaming beginning to fill the air around Bickslow, as the ground began to bubble near them as a large mass began trying to climb out. Bickslow continued his attempt at CPR until hearing a faint cough from Lisanna, watching the mass climb out of the bubbling ground and make its way towards them. It's arms bending and contorting in ways that made Bickslow's stomach turn as it's face was covered in only a large, toothy grin. He scoped her up as she started to choke and gasp in the air and ran. As she regained consciousness she panicked immediately changing into her cat form and scratching Bickslow across the face and kneeing him in the chest, causing him to fall and drop her. Lisanna tried to stand on uncertain legs, wobbling as Bickslow immediately got up and scooped her back up. She began fighting with him and trying to get out of his grips. "You tried to kill me! Put me down!" she screamed at him, again scratching him on the face before sinking her teeth into his arm. "Fuck! I had to! We couldn't have gotten here with you alive!" he said, certain he'd out ran what ever it was that had crawled out from the flesh like earth below his feet. Hiding behind what appeared to be a fleshy skin covered stone, he put Lisanna down. Gasping for air himself as touched his face, spotting the blood on his fingers, Bickslow began laughing. Lisanna glared at him. The fresh wounds on his face bleeding heavily. She then looked at the world around her. It was evident they weren't in Earthland.
"Bickslow...where...where are we?"
"Abaddon"