So I was bored and watching all of the crazy bonus episodes in between the Eclipse arc and the Village of the Sun (you know, Night of the Walking Men (with a bunch of Ichiyas) and a few others), and it turns out that in Episode 222 (the superhero one), Macao actually mentions that Enno is his ex-wife. Like...a lot.

I am happy, because this also means that she's still alive (he always talks about getting back together with her, after all).

Chapter Eighty Four - Mari

"D - do you love her?" a voice stammered.

Laxus looked at the blonde woman walking beside him. He was starting to near six foot, and he was already taller than her. "Huh?"

"Elle. Do…do you love her?" Mari asked.

Laxus looked away, focusing on the road ahead. "She's my best friend."

"That didn't answer the question," Mari murmured.

"You're suddenly a lot more talkative," Laxus said, looking at her.

She looked down at her wrists, which she had wrapped up while walking. "I'm not going back there. I guess…it's finally starting to sink in." She looked back up, at the sky. "It will probably take me a long while to…recover completely…but right now, he's gone, and I can feel my magic again. Though, it's very weak…"

"How long were you Ivan's prisoner?" Laxus asked.

"Almost fifteen years," she whispered.

Laxus stopped walking, staring at her. "Holy shit, that's impressive."

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

Laxus snorted. "You're badass, lady. To survive that long with that monster…yeah. Definitely. And…we'll if you went so long without using magic, your magical container probably started to shrink. It's technically a muscle."

She looked at him, then nodded. "That makes sense."

"You should join Fairy Tail," Laxus said. "You'd be a good addition."

"I can't do that," she said.

"Why not?" he asked, slightly irritated. For some reason, he didn't want her to leave, and he wasn't sure what it was.

"You technically can't join something you're already a part of…" she murmured.

Laxus stared at her in surprise. "Where's your mark?"

She pulled up her skirt, showing the dark gray mark on her thigh. "Ivan always wanted it covered, since I wouldn't erase it myself."

"What type of magic do you use?" Laxus asked, curious.

"Iron-Maker Magic," she responded. "I'm a dynamic type. Which means-"

"That you can make animated creatures," Laxus said, nodding. "We have a static Iron-Maker Mage; Maggie, in case you know her, and we've also had four Ice Make Mages join. Only one of them is dynamic, though."

Mari smiled. "It sounds wonderful." She looked back at Laxus. "Maggie was like an older sister to me. I haven't seen her in years…"

"She's recently had a child with a man named Rex," Laxus said. "He's a-"

"Speed Mage," Mari muttered. "Yes, I know him. I'm glad she found her happiness."

"What about you?" he asked her.

She looked away sadly. "I thought I found that happiness with Ivan, many many years ago. But I quickly learned that what I had wasn't what I had been looking for…and by then it was too late."

Laxus looked at her, feeling a bit sad. "Maybe one day soon, you'll find it."

"Maybe…" she whispered, longingly, before her gaze was drawn back to the two of them.

"That's a princess hold," Mari said, a bit teasingly. "Is she your princess?"

To her surprise, Laxus blushed, and looked away.

"She's not actually a princess, is she?" Mari asked, surprised. "Even Ivan can't be that stupid."

"N – No….she's….just a Lady, that's all."

Mari began to giggle, before it turned to full-blown laughter, causing her to fall to her knees, holding her sides.

"Are you okay?" Laxus asked.

"Sorry," she wheezed. "I just…haven't laughed in…a really long time."

Laxus nodded, before sighing and looking down at the girl in his arms. "But she's not mine anymore."

He continued walking, slipping into an alley to avoid most people, and Mari sighed as she followed them.

Her son was no where near as stupid as his father, but he was still an idiot.

As they neared the guild, she started to shake and hang back a bit, and Laxus looked over at her. "Don't worry; they'll welcome you back with open arms."

He strode forward and kicked the front doors open.

Erik was already nearing the door, Macbeth, Juvia, Freed (carrying Yukino so she wouldn't be trampled), and Lucy right behind him.

The next wave held Jellal, Cana, Jet, Erza, Bickslow, Ultear, and Orga.

The others were still getting up from the table they were at, but Erik had obviously sensed him coming, and warned everyone.

Still, Erik came to a stop as he spotted Elle in Laxus's arms, causing Macbeth to crash into him. The two of them went down in a tangle of limbs, though they managed to quickly untangle themselves.

"What happened?" Macbeth asked, looking at his best friend, but Erik had already socked Laxus across the jaw.

It didn't do much, but Laxus's head turned with the force.

"Erik!" Makarov cried, surprised.

"You asshole!" Erik shouted, tears streaming down his face.

"I deserved that," Laxus admitted, solemnly, before walking past them to the infirmary. Everyone froze as they noticed Elle's bruised and battered body, and the only reason they remained quiet was probably because she was already asleep.

"Ellie-nee," Lucy whispered, and Juvia clutched onto Freed's side as she cried, while Freed tightened his hold on Yukino so she wouldn't jump out of his arms and stop Laxus and Elle from reaching the infirmary.

"What did he do, Erik?" Macbeth asked him.

"He hurt her," Erik whispered, his hands balled up, and his face cast in shadow.

"But we already knew that was going to happen…" Macbeth trailed off.

Erik shook his head, his body still shaking. "This is different."

He turned and ran up the stairs, following Laxus to the infirmary, and everyone followed after as they realized this.

"EVERYONE OUT!" Porlyusica screamed at them. "I ONLY WANT ELLE, LAXUS, AND LUCY IN HERE. EVERYONE, GET OUT!"

Just about everyone scarpered, except for Erik, who stood in the doorway, and Macbeth, who was still worried about his friend.

"Laxus doesn't deserve to be in here with her," Erik said, glaring straight at Laxus's back.

Though they couldn't see his face, Laxus had slumped over at that, and gotten up. "Erik's right. I'll go."

He started to get up, but backed up as a broom slapped him on the head. "What the hell, Porlyusica?"

She scowled at him, brandishing the broom. "Don't be stupid. Elle will need you when she wakes up, and you know it."

She turned to look at Erik and Macbeth and waved her broom at them in warning. "Now GET OUT."

Scowling, Erik was pulled out of the room by Macbeth, who managed to close the door behind him.

"Open, Gate of the Firebird! Phoenix!" Lucy chanted.

Phoenix appeared in a burst of flames, his eyes widening as he took in Elle's broken form.

"Shit," he breathed. He turned to Lucy. "Ready, Princess? This is going to be a bit of a workout, especially cause it's a bit worse than I thought. And even still, I won't be able to do everything."

"What do you mean?" Laxus demanded.

Phoenix looked at him, before sighing. "I mean, I'll be able to heal most of this, but she probably won't be able to walk properly for two to three weeks. Even with Celestial Help."

"Well, why not?" Laxus demanded.

Phoenix bit his lip, before looking back at Elle. "The damage is too extensive. For instance, it'll be able to loop everything back in the right place, and speed up its regeneration, but it won't be able to do much more than that. If I had gotten to her immediately, it would've been a different story, but she's had broken legs going on for over two months now, it seems. It's the exact same reasons she'll still have scars – it's been set too deeply into her body."

Laxus curled his fist and tried to stop from crying. He should have just thrown Mavis's plan to the wind and gone in guns blazing, like Fairy Tail usually did.

Phoenix was actively healing Elle now, and Corvus opened his own gate so he could join the party, carrying several healing tonics in his hands, as well as some other things. Porlyusica studied them while Phoenix continued healing Elle, and Loke popped out too and started bandaging Elle's raw wrists and neck.

"Alright, I've done all I can for healing powers. Lucy, close my gate and summon Crater, alright?" Phoenix asked her.

She nodded and closed his gate, before requipping out a different key and saying, "Crater!"

An odd cup popped into existence, and he spun around.

Phoenix appeared on his own, and took the tonics from Corvus and Porlyusica. He poured one into Crater and handed it to Porlyusica. "Feed her this, please."

As Porlyusica gave her the tonic, Corvus and Phoenix wrapped her broken legs in bandages from the Celestial Spirit world, both soaked in special brews.

As Porlyusica finished and Lucy sent Crater back, Phoenix turned to look at Porlyusica and Laxus. "You don't need to worry about changing her bandages – they will come off on their own when she's healed. They're waterproof, and you won't have to worry about the brew that they're soaked in disappearing or anything."

Corvus pulled out what looked like a bottle of lotion. "Rub this on her scars every day. She'll still have most of them, but it should help them heal faster and fade a bit more."

"Laxus, where are most of her scars?" Porlyusica asked him, and he looked away in shame.

"Her back," he whispered.

Porlyusica tore off of Elle's shirt, causing Laxus to flinch, and Lucy started crying as she saw what happened to Elle's back and her guildmark. "Ellie-nee!"

"She'll be alright, princess," Loke told her, ruffling her hair. Corvus started hugging her while Phoenix turned to Laxus as Porlyusica applied the lotion. "Don't let her walk until those bandages come off, and even then, only emergency situations. She should start out slowly – only standing for a few hours every day until her muscles build up and she readjusts. Adding that on to her recovery time, she should be able to walk properly the second week of October, but that's pushing it. Got everything, Laxus?"

Laxus looked away in shame. "I…I can't take care of her."

Phoenix rolled his eyes, and Corvus intervened. "We were monitoring things from the Celestial Spirit World, though we weren't able to see where she was exactly, and you did an alright job with the situation you were stuck in. She'll need you so she can heal mentally. Unless you'd rather abandon her."

Loke hit Corvus for being insensitive, but it didn't turn into a fight. "Elle will be alright with time, Laxus, but she'll need you by her side."

Mute, Laxus nodded.

"That's settled, then," Phoenix said joyously, before turning to Lucy. "We're going to be going now, Princess!"

She wiped away her tears and nodded, hiccupping. "Okay."

The three of them returned to the Spirit World, and Lucy turned and hugged Porlyusica, who was the closest to her.

"Hug your parents, instead, brat!" Porlyusica yelled at her.

Lucy nodded and left the room, likely to ask Makarov to call her parents, who were resting at their Magnolia home.

Porlyusica's attention turned to her grandson. "Whatever you did, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think."

"You're underestimating what I did," Laxus whispered.

"Am I?" Porlyusica asked.

He looked up at her, and she clarified. "Ivan was my son, Laxus. I knew him well, I just didn't want to accept what he had become. And I understand that you had to have become a monster to blend in as you did. But I don't even need to ask to know Elle will soon (if she hasn't already) forgive you. The fact that you will be more tortured by your own guilt than any other punishment just proves how strong your bond is, child."

He looked at her, and slowly nodded, his eyes still empty. "I see what you're saying. But still…"

Porlyusica gave him a sad smile. "I know you won't accept it now, but in time, you will come to realize it as well."

"What did he do?" Macbeth asked Erik, who was still shaking in anger.

He said nothing.

"Erik…" Macbeth said.

Instead, Erik whirled around to look at the other kids.

He pinned Freed with a glare. "Who do you care about more, Elle or Laxus?"

Freed hesitated. He knew the answer, of course, but the fact that Erik was asking the question made him wary.

"Well?" Erik demanded.

"Ella-sama…" Freed said. "Why?"

Erik was still shaking, and he looked over at all of the kids. "Laxus is enemy number one, now. He hurt Elle, and he can't be forgiven for it."

All of the kids exchanged glances. They didn't exactly want to shun Laxus, but Erik could read minds. In the small amount of time he'd been there, Erik had risen in the ranks of People To Listen To, along with Makarov, Gildarts and Ur, and Elle, Laxus, and Erza and Jellal (especially if those last two agree). With the exception of Makarov and Elle, he was probably the one person people turned to the most. If he said Laxus hurt Elle, then Laxus did.

Erik's head shot up, and he went to look at the entrance to the guild in shock. The other kids followed his gaze, and there was a crash as Maggie dropped the plate she was carrying.

Everyone else turned to look at the entrance, following Maggie's gaze, and Makarov gasped, getting up from his seat. "Mari?"

Maggie was crying, and ran towards the woman, hugging her. "I thought you died, Mari!"

"No," she said quietly, smiling at Maggie. "Ivan has kept me prisoner. But I'm home now!"

She started to cry, and Makarov approached her. "My dear, you are, of course, welcome to move into our house."

"Why the hell would she move into our house?" came a voice.

Everyone turned to look at Laxus, who stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding a tray with a bowl of soup on it.

"You didn't tell him?" Maggie gasped.

Mari shook her head rapidly, wiping away her tears of joy.

"Laxus," Makarov started. "Mari is your mother."

Laxus blinked a few times, and then shrugged. "Yeah, that makes sense."

And then he turned and walked back up the stairs.

Erik's shoulders hunched as Laxus's thoughts drifted across his.

Great. Mari's my mother. She spent most of her time helping Elle recover from everything. She must be so fucking proud, having a monster of a son.

Maybe you just don't deserve the women you love in your life. His dragon hissed at him, and Erik's eyes widened.

Erik turned to look at Bickslow, someone he'd gotten close to recently because of their somewhat similar magic. When Erik used his soul reading magic, he couldn't see through Bickslow's eyes – he didn't have privilege to see the colors of the strings, but he knew that Bickslow could see soulmates.

"Bickslow," Erik said, everyone's attention was directed back at them.

Erik stared directly at Bickslow. "Tell me the shades of their strings in your mind."

Laxus and Elle? Bickslow thought.

Erik nodded. Bickslow didn't want anyone knowing about his ability to see the strings, because he had a feeling that he would be mobbed by certain people in the guild.

"Tell me what colors they were the last time you saw them, and them now."

Erik couldn't see into anyone's mind, he can only hear the thoughts that run through their soul, so Bickslow had to describe things for him.

As far as I can tell, the original color, which was like a candy red, from before, meant that they were still kinda seeing the world through 'rose colored glasses', if you know what I mean. It's actually kinda good it's not still like that. Now the new one, the color of blood, means that…I guess you could say that there's a bit turmoil between them, and they've experienced more of the real world.

"What color should it be?" Erik asked.

A nice crimson red is generally the best color most relationships are.

Erik bit his lip. "But it's still red?"

Bickslow nodded. "Absolutely."

Erik sighed. He was still angry over what he'd seen, but he couldn't deny the guilt in Laxus's heart or the way that Laxus had cried for everything he had done when he was alone. And if their string was still red…

"Never...mind," Erik said, looking back up at the ceiling. Even through the ceiling, he could still feel the heaviness of Laxus's heart, and hear Laxus's dragon, which was much more developed than his, romping around his mind angrily at hurting the person he held in his heart the most. "Laxus…isn't enemy number one. He's a member of Fairy Tail, just like us, and he'll probably need some support."

Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief, and Erik noted their reactions, starting to feel a bit guilty. They depended on him for the truth, and he went a bit too far for his personal feelings.

He wouldn't do it again; Fairy Tail need him to be unbiased.

They were a family, and that meant they worked together.