Author's Note: Sorry for the delayed update. Life's been hard.
Hope everyone has been washing their hands, wearing masks, and staying safe. 3 As always, thank you for the faves, follows, and reviews~ Hope you enjoy the chapter~
Walking Cliché 56
Witch Trials
Claire was more than a little unhappy with this situation.
For one, she was starving. Last night after dinner she ended up puking her guts out, and consequently, she was now starving. A little queasy, but mostly hungry.
Secondly… she was in the basement of the guild hall, chained to a chair, and completely drained of magic. Wherever her grandfather got these magic draining chains from, they knew their stuff. Given her unique magic it was rare that these actually worked.
Makarov had asked her to come down here in order to 'get some supplies for the trials tomorrow', and through a fast series of events, Claire somehow ended up in this situation. She was pretty sure it involved a blow to the head, because the side of her skull hurt and her vision was slightly blurred when she woke up. There were two torches in the large room, one on each side of the room, and one door.
A clock ticked annoyingly on the wall opposite of her. It had been two hours since she woke up.
A gurgling, whining sound joined the constant tick tock in the room.
When she finally heard footsteps descending the long staircase, she let out a small sigh. Hopefully they would give her answers.
The door clicked a few times, as if being unlocked, and a few seconds later it finally opened. An old man, her grandfather, solemnly entered the room. "What have you done to my granddaughter?" He asked, his voice strong and sturdy.
"Carol?" Claire asked, though she suspected what he actually meant.
"Claire." He corrected.
"She's probably at the ice cream parlor with her fiancé and three kids." She answered sarcastically. "You know how Bickslow loves ice cream. I once saw him drink 15 milkshakes in one sitting."
"I've suspected for a while now, but my wizard, Warren, confirmed my theory."
Shit.
"Claire's biggest weakness was her mind. Imagine my surprise when I find out that, not only has she built up a resistance to mental magic, but she's immune to it. I've never heard of a case where that happens over night."
"I'm unique in a lot of ways. I wouldn't say that's a good reason to lock me up."
"I've caught your kind infiltrating my guild before, and I'm guessing that instead of using a shapeshifter, you somehow possessed her body. Maybe even kept her soul in place, so that Bickslow wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
"Not to sound suspicious, but the Ghoul Guild can create souls. I wouldn't be surprised if they could make one to look like someone elses."
"The reason you didn't want us looking into Levy's case was because you didn't want us looking into you. Pushing it under the rug would force us to focus on the trials rather than you." He continued, hands clasped behind his back as he talked. "Furthermore, making Levy owe you a favor could work to your advantage in the future?"
"What do you plan to do to me?" Claire asked. Though this situation felt a little reminiscent of last December, when Kelsey tortured her, she highly doubted that her grandfather would be as perverted.
"Nothing, if you return Claire to normal."
She snorted. "Normal. Right."
"I'm going to cast an age regression spell to a week before you were transported to Midi. It will dispel and cancel out anything you've done to Claire since you've taken over." He explained. "If you are Claire, the only side effect is that you'll be a month younger."
Her eyes widened, stomach dropped. That could undo the protection. Everything that spell did will be undone.
"You seem worried."
"Please don't cast the spell." She pleaded, and watched the man open a book in his hands. "Makarov- grandfather- I'll do anything you want, just don't cast that spell." She pulled against the restraints, trying to free herself of the chains. They were too tight, and without her magic, she was helpless.
He started speaking in a different language.
"Makarov, please, don't-" She begged, but her own words were cut off by her screams, as unbelievable pain coursed through her veins. Her body felt like it was being torn into two, centimeter by centimeter, and her own screams in the stone room deafened her ears. Indescribable pain tugged and tore at her flesh, her skull, and everything shook around her.
Gasping for breath, her eyes blinked open, finding everything blurry. No, No, No, No,
Her chest hurt- just like it did before she was healed.
You just killed my child.
"Claire?" A timid voice asked nearby, and was answered with a scream anguish. The side of Claire's head hit the stone ground, and she realized dimly that she'd fallen to her side.
"I'll fucking KILL YOU!" She screamed, her voice hoarse and cracking from use. A dry sob left her throat, and she rested her face against the cool stone. My baby.
1.
May 28th, 3:30 AM
Bickslow woke up with a start, his entire body trembling from the terrible dream. They had become something of the norm lately, and as he gasped for breath while staring wide-eyed into the darkness, the soothing voice of his fiancé filled the air. He jumped at the skin contact on his hand, and it took him a moment to remember where he was.
"A-are you okay?" He whispered shakily.
"I'm fine, baby is fine, Mike is fine, Wendy is fine, Carla is fine. You are fine. Go back to sleep." Claire told him groggily, and gently pulled him back down to the pillows. Bickslow was still shaking, and as they resituated, held her close in his arms. She rested her fluffy head against his chest, sighing in content, and he gently ran his fingers through her short locks. As the fire woman fell back to sleep, she caressed his arm lovingly, and the seith mage was left to stare at the ceiling with a still racing heart.
He didn't get any sleep after that.
He spent the rest of the night gently caressing her upper arm, listening to her breathing, and thinking about his dream. The more he thought about it, the less realistic it was, but he couldn't help but run through the scenario in his head over and over again. Like any dream he had started to lose some of the detail as he woke up, and the more he thought about it, the more he remembered.
One thing in particular bugged the seith mage. What did Warren have to do with it? In the dream he had been in Claire's point of view, and somehow, he knew that Warren telling the guild master something was bad. The more that he focused on the idea, the more he became convinced that it was important.
"Babe?" He whispered, and gently shook her.
"Nnng…" She moaned, not wanting to wake up. He had no idea how much time had passed between the last time he woke her.
"Does Warren know something that could get you in trouble?"
Claire was still for a moment, unmoving, and he shook her again.
"Did you hear me?"
"Why are you asking about Warren?"
"In my dream, he told the guild master something, and it apparently confirmed his theory or something."
"It was just a dream, honey." She grumbled, and nuzzled back into him.
"Humor me?" He pleaded, and she sighed.
"The protection spell, thing, that healed my eggs and eyesight also made me immune to most telepathy based spells. Today during the match, Lucy tried to use what he said, that my mind was weak, against me. If Warren got close to me, he would probably realize that my mind is a lot stronger."
"So, hypothetically, if he told the guild master that could make someone think that you were possessed."
"I dunno. Maybe. You probably heard his name in my fight with Lucy and it came up in your dream."
"Probably." He agreed, though he was still suspicious. It was one of those dreams that he couldn't shake, and he couldn't get rid of the feeling that it was important. He trusted Claire and he had no doubt in his mind that she wasn't a spy, or whatever the guild master thought she was, but he could understand why someone else would. She changed at Midi, and since the island monster had been let loose by the Ghoul Guild, everyone was extra cautious.
Sometime later, likely a few hours, he felt the woman in his arms stir.
"You okay?" He whispered, thinking it was a nightmare, and held her close.
She pushed against him roughly and ran to their bathroom, hand covering her mouth, and a few seconds later he heard her puking.
2.
May 28th, 8:30 AM
Claire fucking hated her grandfather that morning, and the feeling was mutual with her brother. The lightning dragonslayer hadn't been kidding when he said that he was sick- he was deathly pale, bags under his eyes, and it looked like he hadn't eaten for days. Evidently he was having some strange side effects from the 'dragon mating season'.
All of the S-Ranked mages were asked to proctor a section of the last trial day. Similar to the 'Week of Hell' training week that they'd done last year, they were supposed to do that again but cut down to 1 hour each. The S-Ranked mages had 3.5 hours to prepare for it.
"You look like shit." Claire told the dragonslayer.
"So do you." He replied.
"Neither of you look very healthy at the moment." Erza commented.
"How do we want to do these tests?" Mirajane asked them sweetly.
"Whatever requires the least amount of work on our parts." Laxus stated, and sighed as he slouched in his seat. "And why the hell do we have to do so much damn work for this? He's the one that should be doing this."
"No doubt that he's planning some kind of twist." Erza stated.
"Intelligence, strength, endurance, and problem-solving. Maybe we can get our hands on one of those magic scales they used at the Grand Magic Games." Claire stated, answering Mira's earlier question.
"Can't you cast a rune spell to do that?" Laxus asked.
"Fried might."
"How about we have a modeling portion? Part of being an S-Class mage is dressing right, after all." Mira suggested with a smile.
"I think that's an excellent idea." Erza stated.
"That's stupid. Forcing powerful mages walk around in bikinis is just cruel." Claire told them.
"It wouldn't have to be bikinis." Erza told her. "We could make it armor and weapon based."
"With bikinis?" Mira requested.
"Bikinis can be optional."
"What if we had each person model their favorite outfits?" Claire suggested, hating the modeling idea but at least trying to make it productive. "And we'll have different categories that we'll grade them on."
"Sexiness, practicality," Laxus listed off. "Have a bunch of different categories so that they get positive reinforcement and recommendations on improving their outfits."
"We can start with that so that they won't have to change again after that." Erza added.
"Great. I'm guessing you'll want to proctor that, Mira?"
"She doesn't want to proctor it, she wants to join it." Laxus stated, and the white-haired mage giggled, not denying it.
"I want to do an intelligence test for mine." Claire stated.
"You just want to pass out papers and be done." Her brother accused.
"Duh."
"I'll do a strength portion. Leave it to me." Erza stated with a smirk.
"I'll do…" Laxus spoke, trailing off. "What the hell is there left to do?"
"You could do a meditation one. Have everyone sit perfectly still for an hour." Claire suggested.
"That would be boring for the audience, though." Mira pointed out.
"I know what I'll do." Laxus stated, getting everyone's attention.
3.
May 28th, 2:30 PM
"BATTLE ROYALE!?" Lucy screamed in shock, and similar expressions echoed through the group of mages. Natsu, on the other hand, punched his fist in the air and cheered for joy. His dreams were finally coming true.
"The first three mages that fall out of this circle will be disqualified, and won't receive the title of S-Rank." Laxus informed them. "Once I say 'go', you'll-"
"ALL RIIIIIGHT!" Natsu screamed, and instantly punched the person next to him out of the large white circle. Lucy groaned on the ground, having landed flat on her back, and if she were conscious would curse her 'team mate'.
"I didn't say it yet, idiot. That doesn't count." The lightning mage told him. "'Go'." He then said, and without hesitating, the fire mage punched out another mage. Laxus used his lightning magic to teleport him out of the circle, and sat on the sidelines watching the madness unfold. No doubt his grandfather was grinding his teeth over this and turning red in anger- this very game is what got Laxus kicked out of the guild all those years ago.
If he hadn't been so sick, he would have enjoyed the fight. Natsu was going nuts, as usual, and between the comical banter there was fascinating fighting taking place. These were the strongest mages in their guild, hell in Fiore, and they didn't kid around. They fought with their hearts, they fought to win, and they fought to make their guild proud.
4.
May 28th, 2:30 PM
Claire regretted missing the Battle Royale. She could hear the crowds cheering from the bathroom, and between puking up her breakfast, caught snippets of the announcer stating what was happening. Fucking morning sickness.
When her stomach finally settled a little and she stopped dry heaving, she wiped the bile from her mouth and flushed. She was slow to stand, using the stall for support, and everything up to exiting the bathroom was a blur for her. Everything moved slightly slower than it should have been, and her head felt light.
"Sorry." Someone mumbled, and she glanced up, realizing that she had bumped into a person. She was in the hallway outside the bathroom, and the person in question was none other than Warren, the resident telepath.
"Sorry, I caught a stomach flu and am crazy dehydrated." She explained awkwardly, and as she swayed, the man held her arm to steady her. He seemed nervous for some reason.
"D-don't w-worry about it. I h-hope you feel better."
"Are you okay?" Claire asked, taking deep breaths as she stared at the older man. Warren was a man that was rarely seen at the guild since he took so many jobs, but when he was in town, she loved picking at his brain. He was full of interesting facts.
"Y-yeah, wh-why d-do you ask?" He stuttered, and as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, she recalled Bickslow's nightmare last night. He had asked about Warren specifically.
"So, this is going to sound weird," She spoke. "But Bickslow had a nightmare involving you last night. Apparently there was a misunderstanding between us, and you gave information to the guild master that got me hurt."
He gulped. "W-weird dream." His voice cracked.
"Look, I had a protection spell cast on me that makes telepathy based magic useless on me. I'd rather not tell you the details, and I'd prefer if you kept what I told you to yourself." She spoke, and he was about to say something, but she cut him off. "I'm sorry, Warren, I should get going. I'm sorry for bothering you- I really shouldn't be talking to anyone right now. Morning sickness is a bitch."
"'Morning sickness'?" He asked, blinking at her in surprise.
"Yeah," She chuckled with a wide grin. "Bickslow and I are trying to keep it secret until after the trials."
"Your secret is safe with me." He told her, seeming to relax a little. "Hey, let me walk you back to your seat. You don't look so good right now."
Their walk back to the VIP section went unnoticed to the exhausted mage, but as soon as the couch came within reach, she plopped down on it. Erza looked between the two, curious about the situation, and noticing that Warren became increasingly awkward.
"I, uh, just walked her back from the bathroom. She was disoriented and could barely walk." He explained quickly, and the red head nodded with a smile.
"You're a good man. Thank you for returning her." Erza spoke. "Would you like to stay here for the rest of the trials?"
"N-no, I have a date that I n-need to get back to." Warren stuttered, and bowed politely to her. "Thank you for the invitation, though."
"Well, thank you again. I'll see you around." The requip mage watched him leave, having a new appreciation for the man, and then turned back to the miserable mage on the couch. Claire groaned softly, one arm tucked under the pillow while the other hung limp to the floor, and her eyes were closed. Erza carefully crouched down and pressed her palm against the woman's forehead, finding that it felt rather warm.
"My temperature is always high. Dragon magic." Claire explained, mumbling the last part.
"I see. Should I get Porlyusica?"
"No. I'm pretty sure I just have a stomach flu." She replied.
"Well, get some rest. We'll be able to get by without you for the rest of the day." Erza spoke softly, and gently pushed some of the hair sticking to the woman's forehead. The gesture felt nice against her clammy skin.
5.
May 28th, 5:24 PM
"Well?" His guild master asked, looking up at him expectedly. Warren gulped, feeling incredibly awkward, and rubbed the back of his neck. "What did you find out?"
"She… her mind is a lot stronger than it used to be, but she said that it's…" He spoke, trailing off.
"You asked her about it?" The guild master asked, and the man nodded. "Was it a reasonable explanation? Tell me."
"It… I've never heard of it, except extremely rare cases, but it's technically possible." Warren spoke, thinking of his earlier encounter. He felt incredibly honored to be let in on the knowledge of her pregnancy, even if she didn't mean to tell him, and telling the guild master felt like betraying her. Not to mention the dream she said Bickslow had- if anything Warren said to the guild master got her hurt, or her baby hurt, Warren wouldn't be able to live with himself.
"What's rare?" The old man pressed.
The telepath bumped into the wall behind him, suddenly finding their spacious hallway rather cramped. Everyone was currently at the mess hall celebrating the end of the trials, so they were likely the only two people left in the coliseum.
"Warren, tell me. It is extremely important that you don't leave out any details."
"I… she asked me not to tell anyone, and I… I can't betray that trust. I'm sorry, guild master." He finally stated, and bowed politely to him. "I'm not the kind of man that goes back on his word."
"And what if she ends up being a spy for the Ghoul Guild? What if the real Claire is locked away somewhere, waiting for us to rescue her?"
"I don't know, guild master. I'm sorry." Warren repeated, still bent over in a bow.
6.
The party of the century was currently taking place in the Fairy Tail guild hall, and it was jam packed with wizards from around the country. People from all over came to watch the event, and even though it wasn't quite as popular as the Grand Magic Games, it definitely gave it a run for its money. Ever since Fairy Tail's glorious victory two or three years ago, and then their mysterious disappearance shortly after, everyone had been waiting to see the famous guild in action.
The winners of the trials were hailed as such in the mess hall, getting drunk and partying to their heart's content. Each of them wore a plastic crown, and by the end of the night, they would all end up with a lucky fan.
As Claire lay outside on the hammock, having little energy to do anything else, she smiled at the sounds she heard. Even if she could drink, she preferred the fresh night air. It was far too crowded in the guild hall for her liking, and even outside there were more than a few wizards escaping the chaos. Whenever they tried to settle too close to her, she'd shoo them away with her fire. One of these times she would add a 'get off my damn lawn, kids!', but every time she either forgot or was too tired.
So long as she could see the stars, though, she was happy.
They always made her feel a little less homesick, and a little less scared of this world.
Smelling a familiar scent nearby, Claire turned, slightly surprised to find her grandfather so close. He was watching her, as if studying her but trying to act casual about it. Claire, you sound so paranoid. "Hey gramps, what's up?"
The old man smiled, chuckling softly. "Just getting some air. Why aren't you partying inside with the others?"
"I'm not feeling it." She shrugged, and looked back up at the sky.
"I never knew you liked stargazing." Makarov commented softly.
"It reminds me of home. I had the same stars on my world." She explained. "When I first came to this world, I was chased down by some monster by Mt. Hakobe and fell into a creek. When I came to, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."
"Are you glad that you came to this world?"
"If the cost hadn't been so high, then yeah."
"'Cost'?" He asked.
"Coming to this world resulted in half my family dying, and an additional few hundred from the people my family killed."
"You can't blame yourself for any of that."
"I don't, entirely. But I'm not naïve enough to ignore the fact that my arrival on this world came at a price no one should have paid. If it's anyone's fault, it's the water dragon's."
"Did you hear that Carol is thinking of naming her son after him?"
Of course that twat is.
"Do you hate him for summoning you, or because Carol chose him over you?"
"I hate him for dooming our family to hell." Claire replied coldly, and done with the conversation. She was glad when a familiar, stumbling idiot sluggishly came towards them, and nearly knocked over her hammock in his attempt to get to her.
"Checkers!" Bickslow stated with a stupid grin, and barely staying upright. The plastic crown on his head was long gone, and his breath smelled of alcohol.
"Someone's drunk." She commented lightly.
"That's me!" He stated proudly, and with the help of their babies, managed to somehow get onto the hammock with her. In the corner of her eye, Claire saw the guild master walk away, which was probably a good idea considering Bickslow's state. The seith mage straddled her waist, tongue hanging out, and rather obvious 'happy stick' jamming into her hip.
"Honey, we're in public." She reminded him, watching the intoxicated man pout and lean down to give her a sloppy kiss. Chuckling, she gently pushed him back, smiling up at the loopy man. "How much did you have to drink?"
"A lot." He told her. "People kept ordering me drinks when I told them about the baby."
"You told them without me?" She asked, frowning slightly.
"But… but imagine all the money we saved from having me get drunk on free liquor! Free!" Bickslow explained, trying to sit back on his heels and nearly knocking them over.
"You're getting free booze anyway for being S-Class."
"All the more reason for victory kisses." He spoke, and leaned down to kiss her again, either forgetting their argument or simply distracted. In his state, Claire guessed that it could be either. "Are you mad at me?" He pouted, his face falling and looking completely dejected. The fire mage pushed against his chest, not allowing their lips to meet, and she chuckled at his attempt. "Don't you love me?"
"Of course I love you. I also think that we're in public and you're not getting any tonight."
"I don't get anything?" He whined drunkenly, and leaned to the side, effectively falling out of the hammock and onto the ground. Luckily their babies kept the fire mage safe and secure in the swaying hammock, and they giggled at their 'dad's' drunken state.
"Dad drank too much." They echoed around him, and the man groaned loudly. Nearby, some partygoers laughed at the fallen mage, spilling their drinks in their hysteria. Eventually, the drunken seith mage got up from the ground and wandered back into the guild hall, swaying as he moved. Claire sent two of her souls with him to make sure he didn't do anything he'd regret the next day.
Another drunken mage wandered towards her, and the fire woman chuckled. Natsu was down to only his boxers, drink in his hand, and when he burped fire flew out of his mouth instead of his bad breath. Nearby mages screamed at the sudden show of magic, most of them getting caught on fire and running away in panic.
"Fairy Tail sure throws great parties." Claire said lightheartedly, watching curiously as the fire mage stumbled towards her. He appeared in the same state as Bickslow had, tripping over his own feet and mumbling under his breath. "You are so drunk right now." She told him, and the fire mage grinned as he leaned over the hammock and attempted to get on. "Natsu, get off."
"Nnng… no." He grumbled, and as the hammock swayed, he eventually found himself sitting upright and straddling the S-Class mage. At some point he dropped his drink.
"Natsu, what the hell are you doing?"
"You smell nice."
"Well, you don't. So get off before I have to hurt you." She told him, and put her hands up to push him back as he fell down, but underestimated his strength. Natsu fell on her, locking their lips together, and she stared at him wide eyes.
"Bickslow, wake up." Someone spoke nearby, and she furrowed her eyebrows, confused by the sudden voice coming from nowhere. She pushed against Natsu's chest, trying to get him off of her, and found that his grip was steel tight. Her fire magic started burning his skin, but he stayed in place. "Bickslow."
The seith mage sat up abruptly and fell off his seat, cursing loudly after his head hit a small table nearby. He shook his head, looking around him and trying to figure out what happened, and where the hell that stupid dragonslayer went. Bickslow was going to kill him.
"The ceremony is about to start." Fried informed him, and he looked up, utterly confused by that.
"What ceremony?"
"The one where the guild master tells us who made S-Class. What the hell were you dreaming about?" Ever answered him, hands on her hips and annoyed expression on her face. Bickslow had been seeing that look a lot on her the past few days.
"But… that already happened." He told them, and gently rubbed the part of his head that got hit. It didn't hurt that bad, but it was a tiny bit sore.
"No, it hasn't." She stated simply. "Now come on, we need to get going."
"How is it daytime again?"
"How hard did you hit your head?" Ever asked, and grabbed his arm to hoist him to his feet. The seith mage went along with it, unsure what else to do, and simply followed his team to the middle of the arena. Everyone else had already gathered, and were waiting patiently in a rough circle shape.
Bickslow looked down at his hands, realizing dimly that he wasn't Claire and he was obviously himself. It was daylight because the party hadn't happened yet.
Shit, I'm really starting to lose it. He thought to himself, and gave a shaky sigh as he searched the group for Claire. Since everyone was there, the S-Class mages and guild master approached the group, all of them wearing formal attire for the event and lining up on a stage that had been set up. In the few hours between the challenges ending and now, they had cleaned up the battlefield.
When his eyes locked with Claire, he frowned slightly, the dream still fresh in his mind. She looked sickly pale, probably still ill from this morning, and a surge of anger swelled up in the man's chest. Natsu had tried to force himself on her.
In your dream, idiot. Calm the fuck down. He told himself, and took a calming breath to steady his nerves. Mistaking it for nervousness, Claire winked at his direction and gave him a beautiful smile. Claire could overpower him in her sleep, and this is Natsu we're talking about. The idiot doesn't even know what sex is and has probably never even kissed a girl.
Bickslow tuned out the guild master as he started talking. It was a typical speech about how proud he was of them, how he's watched them grow up to be fine young men and women, blah, blah, blah. All that Bickslow could think about was his dreams, despite knowing that he shouldn't.
The guild master was more of a father to him than anyone, and yet his brain was telling him that he was a bad guy. What the hell, brain?
He glanced around him at his comrades, noticing that most of them were teary-eyed and enraptured by the speech that the old man was giving. He should probably be listening, but in all honestly, he'd rather be home sleeping off the shitty dreams he'd been having. He didn't even remember falling asleep in the first place.
"… Bickslow Yoshino," His ears perked up for that part. "Fried Justine, and Gajeel Redfox. Congratulations on making S-Class- you represent the best wizards in our guild, and I don't doubt that you'll make me proud as you…"
About damn time. It's all he needed to hear, and it was obvious who made S-Class by the cheers and jumps for joy by his colleagues. Juvia and Gray were the other mages to gain S-Class, and surprisingly, Natsu didn't make the cut this year. The man simply stood there, his arms folded, and a serious expression on his face. Bickslow watched him curiously, having never seen the carefree man so solemn before, and wondered what was going through his head. He probably wanted to be S-Class more than anyone.
"How did I not get S-Class again?" Ever pouted next to him.
"Perhaps next year." Fried offered. "It's been almost a decade since this guild has had any new S-Class mages, and he had quite a few people get the title this time around. No doubt that he wants to space them over a few years, and you're on the list of candidates."
"Besides, next year won't be such tough competition." Bickslow added. "You'll have better chances for the next one."
The fairy woman sighed, her arms folded over her chest. Makarov was apparently done with his speech, and the crowd was cheering for the newly appointed S-Class mages. An after party was announced, which would be taking place at the guild hall, and the group of mages were making plans for their evening.
"Aw man, I can't believe I missed out on S-Class again! So unmanly!" Elfman yelled in frustration.
"Sorry big brother." Lisanna apologized to him. "At least we'll get to party tonight!"
"Will you be partying tonight, Bickslow?" Fried asked the tall man. Bickslow looked down, still kind of spacey and disoriented, and shook his head.
"I don't think so. I'll probably just head home with Claire." He replied, and seeing that everyone was dispersing for the evening, he made his way over to the fire woman walking off the stage. She was wearing a clean cloak that she'd borrowed from Erza for the occasion, since she still hadn't replaced her own.
"Hey," Claire greeted, and upon having her in his arms again, Bickslow leaned in to give her a deep, passionate kiss. After a few seconds she gently pulled away, laughing softly and smiling at him. "Congratulations on making S-Class, honey."
"Thank you." Bickslow replied, and snuck in another short kiss before she pulled away again. A soft blush was on her cheeks and she glanced at the surrounding people, likely embarrassed, but Bickslow didn't give a damn at the moment. She was his, no one elses, and no one would mess with her on his watch.
"Why did you tell Fried that you weren't going to party tonight? You worked hard to get this, and you deserve to have some fun."
"I'd rather have fun with you. Home. And maybe sneaking in a nap somewhere in there."
"You'll have plenty of nights to party with me. Besides, think of all the free booze you'll get for being S-Class." She told him, keeping a solid hand against his chest. "How about we go home, clean up, have a small nap, and then we'll head back to the guild hall and get you some free drinks. After that you can do what you want."
Maybe we'll 'accidentally' oversleep the nap part. "Okay." He agreed, and was able to snatch another kiss before he finally relinquished his hold.
6.
May 28th, 9:38 PM
Bickslow didn't sleep. At all.
Unfortunately, he still managed to get persuaded into attending the party regardless, and took a few shots upon request. He did feel pretty awesome for getting S-Rank, and he did feel a swell of pride from the look that people gave him now, and as time went on he felt less nervous about his dream. One thing led to another, and before he knew it, he was getting roped into drinking contests with his fellow guild members.
The mess hall was jam packed. He couldn't recall a time that it was ever this full, and it was fun being one of the 'men of honor'. People would randomly hold a toast for him, hoist them onto their shoulders, or a myriad of other random things to celebrate the occasion.
This time around, he made sure to not bring up Claire's pregnancy, despite almost letting it spill quite a few times. Liquor made his tongue loose, and he sure as hell got a lot of it.
At some point he managed to collect himself enough to get away from the partying. Everything moved around him, blurred occasionally, and his feet kept getting in the way of each other as he walked. How he managed to get roped into drinking contests with Kana every single time, he had no idea.
It probably had something to do with Evergreen egging him on every single god damn time, each time waiting until he was tipsy enough to go through with it. Somehow the fairy woman always got away with it.
Though, this time there had been more people involved in the drinking. Instead of just drinking with Kana, it involved several others, one of which was the guild master of Sabertooth- Sting.
He could not hold his liquor.
Bickslow smiled at the memory. I can out drink that punk.
He paused, feeling the liquids in his stomach churn and bubble, and it took him a moment to remember what he was doing. Right, Claire. Checkers. Checker-Claire-Checker-Bear-Claire. Tee hee.
When he finally made it to the backdoor of the guild hall, his grin fell.
Someone was sitting on her. Someone, not him, was straddling his Claire. Bickslow stumbled forward, heart slamming against his chest, and when he reached the asshole he punched him as hard as he could. A girlish scream rang out, hurting his ear, and he drunkenly looked down at the source.
That's not Claire.
"What the hell!?" A short brunette that he didn't recognize, screamed at him.
"My apologies, miss," Bickslow bowed politely and as eloquently as he could muster, and then walked away with his head held high.
And then he stumbled to his knees, puked out the contents of his stomach, and everything turned dark.
7.
Claire's voice was hoarse, and both of her arms hurt like hell. She was still chained to the stupid chair, and when she fell over an hour ago, her right arm got pinned to the ground beneath her. Despite her efforts to roll onto her back, she was stuck, and only half of her left arm was free by this point.
The blood from her struggles was beginning to lubricate her arm's escape. Fear for her unborn child kept her moving, kept her struggling, and she hoped beyond everything that the baby would be okay if she just got to a doctor in time. Maybe Porlyusica or Wendy could reverse the effects, or perhaps, the spell wasn't cast right and she just needed to get to a doctor.
"It'll be okay, baby." She whispered, and hit her head as she pulled her arm with all her strength. "I'm not going to let anyone else die." With a few more awkward tugs and angles, her arm finally became free, and for a moment she caressed the non-existent bump on her belly. "It'll be okay."
A small whine escaped her throat, and with a determined deep breath, she pushed against the ground to get onto her back. The chair and chains clunked against the ground as it resituated, and Claire cried out at the pain that spread through the back of her skull.
Her right arm was way too swollen to get free. The puffy, purple flesh had molded to the chains that kept it in place, and the shoulder connecting her limb tingled painfully. "I'll chew off my damn arm if it means getting out of here."
Unfortunately, in her current state, that wouldn't do any good. The rest of her body was still bound to the stupid chair, and releasing the one arm did little to loosen the rest. With her magic completely drained, she had little to no energy, and rested her head against the stone ground to catch her breath.
"Someone, help me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
Bickslow awoke to the ground being slammed into his face, and the covers soon joining him on the floor. He groaned loudly, his lower body clunking loudly to the floor after him, and opened his eyes to see where he was. The familiar bed sheets caught his attention first, and then the floral cover sheet next, and then the white ceiling above him with a small patch of black.
A sigh of relief left his shaking lips, and he rested his head on the carpet floor, wincing at the soreness of his body. The last few days had been tough on him, and judging by the fogginess of his head, he'd have a killer headache to add to the list of injuries.
Speaking of which… "Fuuuck," He groaned, holding his head and scowling at the creeping pain taking hold. As he tried to recall last night, trying to not dwell on his nightmare, he remembered consuming a plentiful amount of alcohol.
The smell of pancakes reached his nose, and it occurred to him that he heard Claire moving around in the room yet. She didn't even ask to see if he was okay.
A little too quickly, the hung over mage sat up and peered over the bed, finding it empty. Fear and panic instantly traveled up his spine, and in an instant he was running out of the room and bolting down the hallway. The rugs slipped beneath his feet as he ran- he would have to have a talk with Claire about that later- and he finally skid to a stop in the kitchen doorway.
The four men and women looked up, looking none surprised by his strange arrival, and greeted the seith mage. "Morning, sweetie. You hungry?" Claire asked, standing in front of the stove where pancake batter had recently been poured on a skillet.
"Dad got in trouble last night." Michael announced giddily.
"Are you okay?" Bickslow asked, staring wide-eyed at the fire mage.
"Of course I am. Did you have another bad dream?" Claire asked, and leaned back against the counter, popping another strawberry into her mouth. Wendy, Carla, and Michael were all at the table munching on the pancakes Claire had already made them.
He sighed, heavily, and stepped forward. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, terrified of letting go.
"Maybe we should see Porlyusica about these nightmares." She suggested, and at the moment, Bickslow didn't care. Claire was safe. Baby was safe. Everyone was safe.
"Nightmares?" Wendy asked at the table.
"It was probably just stress from the trials. I'm sure I'll be fine now." Bickslow sighed, not wanting to let go of the warm and lovely girl in his arms. He could stay like that forever.
"Dad, you're making mom burn the pancakes." Michael whined from the table, and at his words, the seith mage realized he was right.
8.
At the sound of footsteps descending the staircase, Claire quickly pushed the chair to its side again, effectively covering up the release of her left arm. "Let me out of here!" She screamed, and coughed into the ground.
It was then that she saw it.
A small, barely visible white and light blue light emanated from her lower belly, a wave of relief washed over her. Keep on fighting, baby. You can make it.
The door opened, and Claire's blue eyes locked onto her grandfather's clouded gaze. "Please, let me go."
"You are free to leave at anytime. All you have to do is give up Claire."
"I'm not giving up! Fuck you!" She spat, glaring at the old man and hating him with every fiber of her being. "I'll never forgive you!"
"Whoever you are, you seem to be more powerful than I had thought. What is that symbol on your forehead?" He asked, standing cool and collected by the open door. Claire blinked in surprise, her breath catching, suddenly realizing what happened. My brother's spell- it protected me. It protected us.
"Let me go and I'll tell you all about it." She told him, and her eyes widened as she watched him open the same book as before. "No, Makarov, please!"
Just as before, pain coursed through her body as he read the words, and she screamed at the ceiling in hellish agony.
Bickslow jumped, jolting awake. His body shook, breathing was erratic, and it took a moment for him to place where he was. The people around him stopped to give him a weird look, as if he had done something unusual, and it took a few seconds to recollect himself.
"We're definitely going to visit Porlyusica." Claire spoke, and he turned, seeing that she was sitting right next to him. Her could see the concern on her features, that she was worried about him, and he couldn't help but think that it should be the other way around.
"What's going on?" Fried asked.
"Bickslow's been having nightmares." She answered.
"Well, the trials were pretty stressful." Ever pointed out.
"I have to see the healer anyway for a check up, so we can just get a higher dosage of that sleep medicine while we're there." She explained, still keeping her gaze on the shaking seith mage.
"I-I'm fine." Bickslow told her. "Like Ever said, it's just been the stress."
"I'd rather be safe than sorry. Maybe she'll give you something for the stress, and that'll take care of the nightmares." Claire suggested, and having nothing else to say, Bickslow merely looked back to his half empty plate. It was around lunchtime, if memory served correct.
"So when are you guys going to make the big announcement?" Ever asked, changing the topic. Bickslow was glad for that.
"Uh… I guess whenever we feel like it. Laxus already knows, you guys already know…" She listed off, recalling the people that knew about her pregnancy. Just like her wedding, she wasn't particularly excited for spreading the news of it- the people that she wanted to know already knew, and by this point it just wasn't a secret.
"What happened to Natsu last night?" Fried asked, and at the mention of the little fire brat's name, Bickslow looked up curious.
"Huh?" Bickslow asked.
"I heard that he and Claire got into a fight." Fried further spoke, and when Bickslow turned to his fiancé, saw that she was giving the word mage stink eye. "… was I not supposed to bring it up?"
"What happened between you and Natsu?" Bickslow asked hesitantly, not really wanting to know the answer. His heart thudded painfully against his chest, unwanted images already flying through his mind.
"Natsu made a pass at me, so I punched him in the face. I had to get Gajeel's help to restrain him." Claire explained awkwardly. "He was a lot stronger than usual, and Gajeel thinks it has to do with the dragon mating thing. I tried not to hurt him too bad, but Natsu wouldn't back down and he was drunk, so I ended up breaking his arm in several places."
"'Dragon mating'?" Evergreen asked, unable to hide her smile.
"Dragons used to have a mating season every ten years, and since dragonslayers have dragon magic, they've been feeling some of the side effects. It's why Laxus has been so sick the past few days, and some of the other dragonslayers have been more aggressive lately."
"Don't you use dragon magic? Have you had any side effects?" Fried asked.
"Well I got pregnant, for one." She stated. "Does that count?"
"Interesting that both of the female wizards using dragon magic got pregnant at the same time." He mused thoughtfully.
"Wendy hasn't."
"If she is, someone's going to lose a head." Bickslow declared.
"Anyway," Claire coughed. "Lucy is going to take Natsu on a mission to get some distance between us. Apparently my scent has been driving him nuts the past couple weeks."
He mentioned liking how she smelled in the dream…. Bickslow thought to himself, recalling the nightmare. He specifically commented on her scent. "Where were you when he attacked you?" He asked, interrupting whatever she'd been saying.
"By the bar, I think. You seemed off earlier, so I stayed in the mess hall to keep an eye on you while you drank. I lost track of you during the fight, and afterwards I found you passed out outside." She explained, eyeing him carefully. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Sorry, just spacey." He apologized, and reached for his water. That can't be a coincidence. She would have been outside on the hammock if she hadn't been looking out for me.
"Maybe Claire's right. You should see the healer later." Ever commented, frowning slightly. Bickslow looked at the group around him, suddenly acutely aware of their eyes on him, and he set down the glass.
"I'm fine, really. Just tired." He assured them, and although none of them seemed convinced, they shrugged it off for the time being.
9.
"Fuck." She breathed, unable to form any more words. Her guild master had already left, when she had no idea, and now she simply lay there trying to gather her strength. Her stomach growled loudly, and when she looked down, her baby's glow greeted her sore eyes. Just a little longer, baby.
With a huff, she managed to push herself onto her back again, yet again hitting the back of her skull. The arm that had been pinned hurt a little, but during her struggle, she'd apparently loosened some of the chains around her. Taking another deep breath, she pulled and struggled against the chains, managing to slowly free herself from them.
Her right arm stayed firmly in place, and she didn't even want to look at it. The pussy, grotesque, purple and red arm was disgusting to look at. It was even turning black in some places.
"I'm not going to let you die." She breathed, her lips forming the words to her promise. Everything started turning black, and realizing that she was close to losing consciousness, she quickly stopped struggling.
Falling asleep wasn't an option.
Bickslow, please. Help me.
"Bickslow." The voice brought him abruptly from his dream, and he nearly fell out of his chair. It was a little quicker this time to discern his surroundings, seeing as Porlyusica's stare could scare the devil himself, and he gulped at the stern look she gave him. He hated appointments with her.
"We were actually going to ask you about that." Claire spoke to the woman, still sitting comfortably on the white clothed bed. I must have fallen asleep while she was getting her check up. "Bickslow's been having a lot of nightmares the past few days."
"More than usual?" Porlyusica asked, and they nodded. She turned to the young man, who instantly sat up straighter.
"They, uh, feel super realistic, too." He added, and coughed into his hand. "It's probably just stress from the trials, but they're pretty intense."
"What are they about?"
"Well… they've all been from Claire's point of view. One of my dreams has been sequential, each of them picking up where the other left off, and then another one was a little different, but still in Claire's point of view."
"What happens in these dreams?"
"I, uh…" Bickslow gulped, again, feeling a bit nervous about relaying his dreams. He'd been sure of the one with Natsu earlier, but now that he'd actually been asked to retell these dreams, he felt nervous. "It'll sound kind of stupid, but the sequential one is about the guild master. He thinks that Claire is a spy for the Ghoul Guild, so he locked her in the basement of the guild hall and casts an 'age regression' spell."
"What happens next?" She asked, her voice cold and body giving no indication of judgment or any other emotion.
"He, uh, casts it, and it hurts like hell. Then he leaves the room and I try to escape from the chains holding me down. Claire's protection spell prevents the age regression spell from working properly, and the entire time I'm terrified for the baby. One of my arms is so swelled up around the chains that if I manage to get out of the rest of the chains, I'm ready to gnaw my arm off to get to you."
"To me?"
"To heal the baby, in case there were side effects from the spell." He explained, and saw Claire look away awkwardly. Porlyusica seemed thoughtful, but as she continued watching him, gave no indication of feeling.
"What was your other dream?"
"Yesterday, before the ceremony, I dreamed that Natsu made a pass at Claire on the hammock. When I tried to push him off he wouldn't budge, because he was stronger than usual, for some reason."
"Didn't that happen?" Porlyusica asked, turning to the fire mage.
"Well, kind of. It was by the bar in the mess hall, not on a hammock." Claire explained, feeling uneasy with the entire situation. Bickslow had told her bits and pieces of his dreams, but this was the first time she'd heard all the details.
"Have you ever had a premonition before?" Porlyusica asked man, and both mages blinked at her in confusion.
"Wait, you think his dreams are real?" Claire blurted.
"No, I've never had premonitions before." Bickslow replied. He felt both relieved and terrified by her words.
"Another wizard came in here yesterday telling me the exact same things, minus the vision about Natsu." Porlyusica informed them. "They weren't as detailed as yours, nor as extensive, but the main things are the same."
"But Makarov would never do that." Claire told them. "He wouldn't kill my unborn child just because he thinks I'm a spy."
"Under normal circumstances, no." She spoke, looking troubled as she turned to a bookcase, contemplating the situation. "We have had spies in the past, however…"
"What reason would he have for casting an 'age regressing' spell?" Claire asked. "Is that anything like the one we cast a few months ago with our friends?"
"No." Bickslow stated immediately.
"Instead of taking the mind to an earlier point in time, an age regressing spell like this would take the body back in time. It's an extremely powerful spell and can have serious side effects, so it doesn't make sense that the guild master would cast it. Even if you were possessed, there are plenty of other spells he could cast." Porlyusica explained, still not looking at the pair.
"… this might be far reaching, but if someone wanted me to hate the guild master, that would be a good way to do it." Claire explained, and the pair looked up at her. "I mean, what better way to make both of the strongest S-Class seith mages of a guild turn on their comrades, than killing their unborn child?"
10.
May 29th, 4:30 PM
Bickslow would have rather gone to Laxus with this information, but with the dragonslayer down for the count, he had to settle for Claire's personal choice. Gajeel.
Which, it's not like Bickslow had anything against him, he just didn't know him very well. Gajeel was one of Claire's best friends and had been Laxus's lover for a long time, so the seith mage had no reason to distrust him. Out of everyone in the guild, when it came to shady shit like this, he was probably the best person to go to anyway.
The trio of powerful wizards were seated on the first floor of the mess hall, near a mostly empty corner of the building. Since the trials were done and team Natsu was gone it was pleasantly quiet. To make their conversation difficult to eavesdrop on, Gajeel cast a distortion spell on them to make their words sound like gibberish to anyone outside their table. Outsiders would hear their voice, but be unable to translate their words.
"Huh." Gajeel muttered, contemplating what they'd just told him. "So… why the hell are you having these premonitions, or whatever? And who's the other person that's having them?"
"Apparently one of Bickslow's souls had the ability when she was alive. Since Bickslow has been so worried about the baby's safety, he's somehow channeling that power and having visions of situations that put the baby in harm. Porlyusica wouldn't tell us who the other person was, but said they were reliable."
"That's an adorable name!" Someone squealed loudly nearby, temporarily catching their attention. There was a group of girls surrounding Carol and Mira, and they were chatting about the woman's pregnancy animatedly.
"It's the name of the dragon that brought me to this world." The water mage explained, and started to further explain her connection to him, using romantic words to describe the dragon. 'Aww's resounded around her as she told her story, and the fire mage scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Twat." Claire stated a bit louder than she'd intended. Eyes fluttered in her direction for a moment, having heard the tone in her voice but not the word itself, and Carol coughed awkwardly before continuing with her story.
"I don't get it either. Gotta give her credit for making the asshole sound like a good guy, though." Gajeel told her. "Anyway, I'll look into the guild master. Both of you guys should stay low for the next few days, and let me know if you have any more visions that could be helpful."
11.
Maybe I should have tried to escape anyway. Claire thought tiredly, her right temple leaning against the cool ground.
She'd been laying there for hours, chained to this stupid chair, and waiting to be rescued. Bickslow and Gajeel had assured her that, if she ever did get kidnapped, that they would rescue her. They would save her. Everything would be fine, and that chewing her arm off was something that she really shouldn't do if she could avoid it.
'Don't do anything stupid', they said. 'Everything will be fine', they said. Well, fuck, guys, you're taking your sweet ass time.
That stupid clock kept ticking away, and her eyes would close for several minutes at a time. Instead of focusing on escaping, she had put all of her energy into screaming for help, with no success. Obviously.
Even if she wanted to escape, she didn't have enough energy at this point. Her magic was gone, she hadn't eaten in what felt like forever, and that last attempt at the age regression spell weakened her considerably. All she could do was lay there, helpless, and look down at her even more helpless baby glowing in her belly.
Of all the times she'd been in terrible situations like this, she always got out of it because she didn't wait for someone to rescue her. She fought like hell and made it out in the end.
"Bickslow…" She rasped, closing her eyes again. "If you're having one of those vision things… tell me to fight."
Unlike the other times, Bickslow didn't jolt awake. He took a deep, calming breath as the realization of what happened washed over him. At the moment he was on the couch, having taken a brief nap, and Mike was nearby playing with his toys. Instead of feeling angry or scared, he felt tired, depressed, and mildly frustrated. You could have told me something helpful, idiot.
"Cookies?" Claire offered him, and the seith mage glanced up, relieved to see the cheerful face. "Wendy helped me bake them."
"Sure, thanks." Bickslow grumbled, his voice croaking slightly from just waking up. He took two of the cookies and lay back on the pillow again, meanwhile Claire sat down on the love seat.
"So, anything change?" She asked, to which he gave a heavy sigh.
"Nothing helpful. Next time around, can you actually give me information to go on?"
"… sure, whatever you say." She replied awkwardly, and bit into one of the cookies.
12.
Either that clock is wrong, or I've been here for over 36 hours. Claire thought miserably. She'd never felt so helpless.
The door upstairs finally opened, and a few seconds later, the door to her room clicked open. Makarov Dreyar stood in the doorway, wearing his favorite white jacket, and a deadpan expression on his face. Claire was too tired to do anything but stare back.
The old man threw the book to the ground.
"I've cast this on you 3 times now, and it still won't work." He informed her. She just gave him a blank stare, too tired to do anything else. "Since this isn't working, I'll just have to cut to the chase."
The guild master snapped, and in an instant, it wasn't Makarov anymore. It was a completely black creature, standing around 7 feet tall, and hand long thin fingers.
"Where the hell is it?" He asked.
"Where's… what?" She asked, and her body shook as she coughed, spit getting caught in the back of her throat.
"The snake. We were originally going to wait until after you turned on your guild and willingly came to us, but since that's not an option at this point, I'll have to resort to… other, methods. How about I cut your baby out of you and show you what it looks like from the inside?"
"Bickslow will kill you." She breathed.
"All of this can be avoided if you tell me where it is."
"This could have been avoided… if you kept track of your shit better." She chuckled dryly, knowing that there was a slim chance of her surviving this. He was going to kill her whether or not she gave up the information, so at the very least she wouldn't make his job any easier.
Bickslow sat up abruptly, finding himself in darkness. When he heard the woman next to him moan softly, he hit her arm. "What the hell was that? Some guy threatens to kill our baby and you antagonize him?"
"… the fuuuuuck?" Claire whined, pouting as she turned and curled up in the blankets, and glared up at him.
"I… why were they looking for a snake?" Bickslow asked, going from angry to confused. He was trying to recall his dream, keeping it fresh in his memory to sort out any useful information, and that seemed important to remember.
"A snake?" She asked, closing her eyes briefly, and sighing.
"Don't fall back asleep on me." He told her, and hit her arm again.
"I'm not, and stop hitting me. I'm carrying your goddamn child."
"You won't be for long if you don't cooperate with me."
"You're going to be sleeping on the couch if you don't calm the hell down." She countered, eyes half-lidded and obviously not in the mood. "Wendy and I were transported to Midi because they were trying to get a snake that was hiding in the cargo. The people at the swamp hunted Wendy and I down all the way to the coast because they thought we stole it."
"Did you?"
"Of course not, and that shit hole was crawling with snakes. It's no wonder those idiots lost their shit."
"And you didn't think to mention this when you told us what happened at Midi? Why the hell did you hide something like that?"
"I never hid anything, jerk. Not in Midi, anyway. Everyone was so focused on Minstrel and my safety that they didn't ask about the cargo they'd been after. Kind of weird that they wouldn't, now that I think about it." She explained, and sighed again, her eyes drifting to a close.
"Come on, stay awake. We need to figure this out." He told her, and roughly shook her arm. "Tell me more about the snake they were after."
13.
May 30th, 8:00 AM
"A what?" Makarov asked, scratching the back of his head.
"A death snake." Bickslow repeated. "It's a snake that goes back and forth between this realm and the underworld, and gifted people can see the reflected tortured souls from that world in it. The Ghoul Guild is currently searching for it and will kill anyone that gets in their way."
The room of mages listened carefully, taking in the situation and what it all meant. After Claire had helped him do the research to find information on the snake, he contacted Gajeel and the guild master to have a meeting with the high ranking mages. Currently, every S-Class mage except for Guildarts was in that room.
"So it's a portal jumping snake?" Gajeel asked, and the seith mage nodded. "So, not to sound like an idiot… but so what? What's so special about this snake?"
"You might be able to explain it better." Bickslow spoke, turning to the fire mage. She was seated nearby, slouched in her chair and pale from puking earlier, and the glare she gave sent a chill down his spine. She'll definitely get the point across better.
"If the Ghoul Guild got a hold of this, they could potentially have the power to send a legion of poltergeists into any area they wanted." Claire explained. "We know that they have a teleporter. If they figured out how to open a gateway, they could open it in the middle of a town, set up a barrier around it, and sit back while hundreds of people get slaughtered by ghosts."
"What makes you think that the snake allows souls to enter this world?" Makarov asked. "From what you told us, the snake itself goes between worlds, but it doesn't bring anything with it."
"It's… just a theory." Bickslow admitted. "But I mean, if they're willing to go to war over finding it, it at least warrants some looking into."
"How certain are you that they're looking for it?"
"Unless you can think of another snake they'd try to kill Claire over…" Bickslow shrugged awkwardly. "The only thing I don't understand is why they'd go after Claire and not Wendy."
"I have a theory for that, actually," Makarov spoke. "Wendy has poor self-defense against mind based attacks, so if someone from the Ghoul Guild tried to read her thoughts to find the location of the snake, they'd realize she didn't know anything. Given Claire's recent… improved mental defense, that would resort them to using less stealthy means."
"All of this is so crazy." Gray spoke, running a hand through his hair and staring at the floating image in front of them. Claire was using her data compression magic to better relay their information.
"If they used a weapon like that on us," Erza spoke. "We wouldn't stand a chance. We need to find this 'death snake' before they do."
"Agreed." The guild master stated.
"Small problem." Claire spoke up. "How the hell do we find it?"
"Kana might be able to help us with that." Erza told her.
"I'll do some research and see if the snake might have gotten into another part of the train." Gajeel stated. "Judging by what you've told me about it, it's possible they were so sloppy that it wasn't even on the train car you were in."
"This may require going back to the swamp base you were taken to." Erza told the fire mage.
"Fuck no, I'm not going back there. And even if we did, there's no way we'd be able to find it after all those Ghoul Guild losers combed the damn place. It's not there."
"Stop being stubborn. If Kana's cards tell us that it's there, then we're going there, like it or not."
"I'll go." Gray volunteered.
"Juvia will, too!" She exclaimed.
"You would need to have a gifted person go with you. The snake looks like a rainbow to someone that can see souls, but white to those that don't." Bickslow explained. "I'll go."
"It's a Ghoul Guild base," Claire reminded them rather loudly. "They're not just going to let you search the place and leave quietly. There's also the risk of starting a war."
"I agree." Makarov spoke, seeming thoughtful as he sat there. The room became silent for a moment, looking to the old man for guidance as he pondered the situation. "Gajeel, do what you said to find it on this end. With any luck, they were as sloppy as we'd hoped. We'll have Kana use her cards to locate the snake, and if it says that it's still in Midi, I'll put together a small stealth group to do a sweep of the area."