The Blue Pheasant Flies On
Chapter 16: Thunder God Tribe
X781
The four members of the Thunder God Tribe worriedly stood around Laxus's hospital bed and looked over their heavily injured leader, ignoring their own injuries. Bandages were wrapped around Laxus's torso and his left leg was in a cast and elevated after undergoing surgery to fix the holes that had been shot through his thigh and calf. After they had woken up, the doctors had informed them that Laxus was supposed to make a full recovery, though the wounds on his face would most likely scar. The quartet had immediately left their rooms and crowded into Laxus's, where they had stood guard since despite their doctors' requests to return to get some rest. After all four had leveled glares at them for the foolish suggestion, the doctors had wisely let them be. The only one to enter the room since had been the nurse that changed Laxus's blood bag, and even she had immediately fled after being under the intense stares of Laxus's bodyguards; each daring her to make a mistake in front of them.
The only sound that filled the room was the beeping of Laxus's heart monitor that reassured them that their leader was merely resting and in no danger of dying because of they had needed rescued. Laxus had gotten this hurt because the four of them had been unable to defeat one man. He may have been a dark mage with a truly twisted, yet powerful, way of using magic, but there had been four of them, each acknowledged by Laxus himself for their strength. They shouldn't have had to rely on Laxus to win that fight for them. They were supposed to be the ones that protected him.
After confirming that Laxus wasn't going to disappear and leave them alone, the mages stopped by their rooms in shifts to change into their regular clothes before returning to guard Laxus while he was incapacitated for their sakes. Evergreen was wearing her long, green strapless dress that showed off her curvy figure and the green Fairy Tail mark on her right breast with black stockings and heels. Her brown eyes were hidden behind a fashionable pair of sunglasses to complete her look, though she hadn't bothered putting her brown hair in its usual ponytail or applying makeup. Bickslow had donned his black and purple bodysuit, baggy blue pants, greaves, and knight-like helmet over his dyed blue hair. His "babies's" bodies had been destroyed and the mage hadn't had time to make them proper replacements yet. Freed had managed to salvage his red double-breasted coat, though it was still littered with cuts and tears from the fighting, and had tucked his pants into his knee-high boots. His sword was strapped to his waist and he even managed to make sure that not a single strand of his long green hair was out of place during the limited break that he had allowed himself to take to make himself "presentable", even managing to style in the small lightning bolt-shaped stands. It was especially impressive since he had finished faster than his three teammates. Lastly, Lyon emerged in his blue high-collared tunic with gold accents and dark pants tucked into greaves. All four of them took a moment to confirm that they looked presentable enough to not cause Laxus any worries if he were to wake up and see them before resuming their vigil.
Each member of the Thunder God Tribe had decided to devote themselves to Laxus for their own personal reasons. He was what brought them together, the man's charisma and power having won them over at various points in their lives when their futures had been uncertain. Now, they just wished to serve the him and ensure that his goals were reached and any dream that he had was fulfilled. They would give their lives for the man lying on the hospital bed before them and his actions during their fight just reinforced that idea.
The five of them had accepted a job to take down the dark guild Beholder's Eye. The regular fodder had been easy to take care of, it was the guild leader who had been the problem. He had claimed to have foreseen their arrival and the way that he had personally tailored traps to draw in the Thunder God Tribe and separate them from Laxus gave credit to his claims. Two of the stronger mages of the guild had been sent after Laxus after the guild master had baited the four mages into leaving their master behind and attacking him. The guild master, a man by the name of Argus, had teleported himself and the Thunder God Tribe away from Laxus and into an open area that had been prepared for their battle. There, Argus revealed that he was obsessed with Eye Magic and that he wanted to steal Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen's magic eyes and add them to his collection and reach a total of one hundred eyes.
They had told him that they weren't just going to hand over their eyes. In fact, they were going to defeat him and present his beaten body to Laxus as repentance for falling into Argus's trap and making Laxus waste his time on those two weaklings that Argus had sent to attack him. That proved to be harder than they expected when Argus discarded his hooded cloak to reveal that he had eyes implanted all over his body. From the middle of his forehead to his hands and feet. Worse, each pair of eyes used a different kind of Eye Magic. The battle quickly turned against the Thunder God Tribe, with all of their magics being countered by a different set of eyes.
Bickslow's dolls were easily destroyed by the eyes in Argus's palms that could cast Shatter Magic. The explosions from Evergreen's Fairy Magic were swallowed by spatial distortions cast by a pair of red and black eyes embedded in Argus's right arm. Lyon's ice constructs were all manipulated by the Cryo Eyes in his left arm and turned against him, with any attempt to create a shield ending in the shield being distorted so that the constructs could attack him directly. All of the mages except Lyon activated their own Eye Magic to try and defeat Arugs, but the dark guild master had been waiting for that. Evergreen's Stone Eyes found themselves reflected by Mirror Eyes embedded in Argus's abs and left the woman petrified by her own magic. Bickslow's Figure Eyes relied on eye contact and not only did the many eyes on Argus's body allow him to close his original eyes and still be able to see Bickslow, but he also had a pair of eyes where his nipples should have been that let him cast Light Magic to blind Bickslow and nullify his eyes. Freed was unable to touch Argus with his Dark Ecriture thanks to his right eye allowing him to see the future and dodge all of his attacks. Even after Freed cast Dark Ecriture: Demon, he was still unable to defeat Argus. He just used the eye in the middle of his forehead to cast Combustion Magic that peppered Freed's demonic form with powerful explosions until he was unable to move. That just left Lyon, the only member of the Thunder God Tribe without Eye Magic to face the self-proclaimed 'Hundred Eyed Mage.'
Lyon tried his best, but he was no match for Argus. While the dark mage didn't take him seriously at first, using the Cryo Eyes in his left arm to control Lyon's ice and manipulate it like water. Lyon was able to regain control of his ice thanks to his personal mastery of his own ice being superior to Argus's magic, but that proved pointless when Argus just shattered it again. Lyon tried every trick in the book to defeat Argus only for the other mage to prove that his ability to see the future, destroy Lyon's constructs, and fire long-range explosions was too deadly a combination for the teen to deal with. Lyon was left unable to move along with the rest of his team while Argus gloated over them. He had planned to kill Lyon due to his lack of useful eyes and they would have been unable to do anything other than watch Laxus's first disciple die before them if the blonde mage himself hadn't arrived in a flash of lightning followed by a boom of thunder as he socked Argus in the jaw.
Laxus taunted Argus with the knowledge that he had defeated the duo he had pitted against him quite easily. While the one had been able to prevent him from casting magic, he didn't need it to crush them; pure strength had been more than enough. He was not happy with how Argus had treated his bodyguards and let the man know so through several high voltage attacks that filled the air with the smell of burnt ozone and stood everyone's hair on end. Argus managed to absorb Laxus's lightning with another set of eyes and started firing lasers from eyes he had shrunk down and embedded in his fingertips. Laxus was forced to turn into lightning to dodge the attacks and had managed to thoroughly annoy Argus with how hard to hit he was in that form. The dark mage had resorted to targeting his unprotected and exhausted allies to force Laxus's hand. The blonde mage ended up taking two shots through his legs and one through his torso in order to protect his comrades.
Argus mocked him for being so soft and not nearly as threatening as his Dreyar bloodline would suggest. Invoking his family name greatly pissed Laxus off, so Argus continued to rub salt in the wound. He brought up Makarov's reputation from his glory days as the leader of Team Makarov and how he had been promoted to the fifth-ranked Wizard Saint forty years ago and had never once lost the position. Then he really made Laxus's blood boil when he brought up his father, Ivan. He mocked him for not living up to the reputation of being a brutal and tactical fighter that crushed dark guilds on his own and struck fear into the hearts of mage guilds across the country before and especially after his excommunication from Fairy Tail. Meanwhile, here Laxus was struggling to defeat one dark guild with four mages backing him up. It was just pathetic. He claimed that Fairy Tail was filled with a bunch of drunken fools that liked to punch people in the face and rode on the coattails of the few diamonds in the rough that could be found in the guild. Just like how Laxus was nothing special and just relied on his family's reputation and his "bodyguards" were just sucking up to Laxus to ride his coattails, which was doubly pathetic. Argus punctuated his statement by using his Laser Eyes to carve two more lines into Laxus's face to "complete his scar".
All of this brought Laxus's temper to its boiling point and kept on cooking it until he was ready to explode. Laxus activated his Lightning Dragon Lacrima and rushed Argus. The dark mage had mocked Laxus for thinking that a simple power boost would be enough to defeat him and attempted to absorb his lightning, only to find that Laxus was putting out more lighting than his eyes could absorb at a time. The blonde mage then got close enough to Argus to destroy his lightning absorbing eyes and start the fight for real.
Argus quickly began to accumulate electrical burns as he was unable to keep up with Laxus's speed and the brutality brought about by his anger. Any ranged attack that he tried to make was avoided by turning into a bolt of lightning and Argus didn't have a strong enough close-range attack to hurt Laxus when he started punching him. He managed to get a few hits in with some of his more unorthodox attacks, but Laxus quickly overwhelmed the master of Eye Magic and proclaimed to him that, "This is my power. Not Gramps's Titan or Light Magic, not my dad's Paper Magic; this is the power of 'Thunder God' LAXUS!"
It had been inspiring for the four mages to watch their master defeat the man that had given them all so much trouble, but that admiration was quickly shoved to the side by worry when they saw Laxus collapse from his accumulated injuries. They pulled themselves together and used Freed's Dark Ecriture to give them wings and the temporary strength needed to fly Laxus to the hospital they were now patients in. They had managed to emphasize to the doctors that Laxus's health was the most important thing and that they should take care of him first before they all passed out from exhaustion.
Thus, they found themselves here, standing watch over their injured master and hating that their own weakness. Alone with their thoughts, each member thought back to when they first met Laxus and were swayed to devote their lives to serving him.
Lyon had been Laxus's first follower, begging the older mage to train him after he had grown tired of Ur's preferential treatment of Gray. He knew that Laxus had mainly agreed not because he saw Lyon's strength and potential, but as a "fuck you" to Ur. He was fine with that; it was mainly why he had gone to Laxus in the first place. Despite being brought together by mutual spite, the pair ended up working together well. After he had relayed Kuzan's threat to Laxus, the blonde mage had decided to take a page from Gildarts's book and grab a handful of jobs at once to stay out of the guild.
They traveled around Fiore together for over half a year before they returned to the guild, completing jobs and training. Laxus didn't go easy on Lyon, he trained him till he dropped then made him get back up and keep going. If Lyon wasn't fast enough, he was shocked. If Lyon's defenses weren't strong enough, he was shocked. If Lyon wasn't strong enough, he was shocked. Laxus's training pushed him to overcome his limits far better than Ur's training had ever done. The constant magic exhaustion made his reserves larger and the constant shocks made him get tougher and faster. Laxus also made him get more creative. He never fell for a trick more than once, forcing Lyon to keep coming up with more and more ways to land a hit on the S-Class mage. That was the only thing that would stop their training for the day. Once he managed to land a hit every day for a week, Laxus increased it to two hits a day. Then three, then four, and so on. At the moment, he was up to seven hits a day to stop their training.
It may have seemed brutal and cruel—and the other members of the Thunder God Tribe had said as much when they first saw how they trained—but it was what Lyon wanted. He didn't want to be seen as a replacement child. He wasn't a little boy looking for a new family like Gray. He wanted to be strong. Strong enough to kill a demon like Deliora if it ever tried to take away something he loved again. That's why he had started learning magic, not to protect himself, but to kill Deliora. Ur hadn't wanted to teach him how to do that, so he read her books and taught himself Iced Shell. Kuzan hadn't wanted to teach him how to be strong, so he trained himself. He had asked Ur to teach him to be stronger, but she had just kept him doing the same menial bullshit day after day. He knew it would make him stronger, but not fast enough! He didn't have time to fuck around with repetition. Erza was already getting stronger by leaps and bounds under Kuzan—proof that the old mage could have made him stronger than Ur could, he just didn't to spite him—and Mira was getting trained by Gildarts, a man regarded as one of the strongest in the world. He couldn't keep up with that if he stayed under Ur, she was just a Wizard Saint. Even worse, she saw him as her child and took it easy on him. He couldn't stand to be patronized like that. He didn't have time to be coddled. He needed to be stronger.
Laxus understood that. He knew what it was like to be weak and helpless. The older mage had confided in Lyon that he had been a weak and sickly child until his father took him under his wing and made him strong. Ivan had taught Laxus the same way he was teaching Lyon now. The methods were harsh, but they were effective. It had made Laxus second only to Makarov and Gildarts in the guild until Ur and Kuzan had come along. He had spent years being denied S-Class by his grandfather, then two total strangers walked in and were granted S-Class status without a trial, and after that, Erza and Mira had become S-Class when they were barely in their teens while he had had to wait until he was nearly twenty! The injustice ate at Laxus, who had forced himself to train harder and longer to make up for it. He refused to fall behind and be belittled, something that Lyon admired in him.
Laxus had told Lyon that he had a plan to become Fairy Tail's master, and Lyon would be important for that plan. So, Laxus trained him harder and Lyon rose to the challenge. He would do everything in this power to fulfill Laxus's goal. He had made him strong, and that was something that Lyon could never fully repay.
Bickslow had been the second mage to become Laxus's follower. They had met each other on a job where Laxus and Lyon had been hired to hunt down a thief guild/smuggling ring. The pair had managed to discover that the circus that Bickslow had worked at since he was young was the front for this group. They had attacked and easily defeated most of the fighters until Bickslow had been called for. He was the strongest mage in the circus, it was why they had even considered taking him in the first place. Why else would they take in a mage that used Seith Magic or had eyes that let him control people at will? He had put up a good fight against Lyon, transferring several of his captured souls to Lyon's constructs to turn them against the Ice Mage. He had him on the ropes (literally, he had knocked Lyon into the acrobats' safety net) when Laxus had stepped in.
His power was incredible. He easily destroyed Lyon's ice and Bickslows dolls with a wave of his hand. His fellow circus criminals had started yelling at him to do something, so Bickslow pulled out his trump card. He removed his mask and cast his Figure Eyes. Laxus had been smart enough to close his eyes before he could make eye contact, but that had been fine. Bickslow's Figure Eyes and Seith Magic was an unbeatable combo that had saved the circus's collective asses more than once. It was only a matter of time until he beat Laxus and had told him as much.
That proved to be a mistake. Laxus had turned to lightning to avoid his dolls' lasers, but Bickslow could still follow his soul with his eyes. Then Laxus had turned back to normal, there was a sudden flash, then everything went white. Blinded by his attack, Bickslow never saw the attack that knocked him out, but he sure felt it land after Laxus shouted, "Breakdown Fist!"
Later, Laxus visited him in his cell. He talked to him and asked why he stayed with the circus when he was so much stronger than them. Bickslow told him how the circus had given him his mask, then took him in and raised him when no one else would even look at him because of his eyes. They taught him to be an acrobat and made him a star of the show. He became 'The Soul-Stealer'. "The man who defied death by manipulating the dead." He couldn't leave them after that. What Laxus told him next would stay with him until he died.
"They gave you a mask and billed you as a freak. You were a meal ticket to them, a way to draw in a crowd. You were their bodyguard and main attraction, but you were never one of them. I heard them talking to you, acting like it was your fault that their plans were coming apart. Acting as if they'd do better in a fight than you. Acting as if you were weaker than them. Because that's what they are: actors, fakes, weaklings playing at strength because there were a lot of them and they had convinced a tiger that he was a housecat. You're strong, Bickslow, strong enough to do what you want. You don't have to serve those that treat you like a glorified guard dog. You can do better than them. Join me, and I will show you that you are so much more than what you thought you were. I will help you make your magic a true unbeatable combo."
Laxus's words had moved Bickslow more than he ever thought possible. When he laid it out like that it was so easy to see how the circus had used him. He had never been one of them, even as the headliner. He had always been the dumb muscle, easy to manipulate because he had been purposely raised to know no better. So he reached out and grabbed Laxus's hand and became his bodyguard. Not because he had been raised and trained for the role, but because he wanted to.
The next day, Bickslow flipped on the circus in exchange for immunity. He got them all thrown in prison for at least twenty years after bringing to light far more crimes than the Custody Enforcement Unit was already planning to try them for. When the trials were over, Laxus and Lyon were waiting for Bickslow. Laxus handed Bickslow a helmet to replace the mask he had thrown away with an, "If you want it." That was when Bickslow realized that ever since their fight he had been looking at the world with his own eyes, something he had never done before. The circus had always forced him to wear a mask, even when he slept. As he took the helmet from Laxus with a shaking hand, the older mage locked eyes with him, just like he had done at the jail. It was that, more than anything else that Laxus had ever done, that made Bickslow decided to be his bodyguard. Not because Laxus wanted him to, not because he had been chosen and raised to do it, but because Bickslow had found someone that he wanted to protect.
That night, Bickslow released all of the souls he had enslaved while working for the circus. Most of them left in disgust and anger for what Bickslow had forced them to do, except for five childlike souls. When he asked if they wanted to stay with him after everything he had forced them to do they all repeated "stay" and danced around his head with happy movements. He named them Pappa, Peppe, Pippi, Poppo, and Puppu and made unique, hand-carved totem dolls for them to wear. They were his babies, and he was going to protect them like he would the other members of the Thunder God Tribe and their leader, Laxus.
Evergreen was the last mage to join their team and the only woman deemed strong enough to do so. She had had high hopes when she joined Fairy Tail, hoping that a guild of mages would be more willing to accept her, but that wasn't the case. Though she instantly became popular due to the short, strapless dress with a deep neckline she wore over her curvaceous figure that distracted the drooling mages from the sunglasses she wore at all times—even indoors—that wasn't enough to keep them around when they found out about her eyes. All it took was one little slip-up on a mission for word to spread through the guild that looking at her eyes would turn you to stone for hours. Stone Eyes were inherently difficult to control, and Evergreen hadn't grown up with anyone to teach her. No one had wanted her around when her magic manifested, not even her parents. Wearing glasses helped, but her eyesight was perfect, and she frequently found herself forgetting them at first. She didn't like wearing them and thought she looked stupid with them on, but she forced herself to put up with it. Mistakes were made though, so she had been forced to leave her home and wander between towns to try and find anyone that could teach her. The whole time struggling to teach herself something she knew nothing about. A mage's guild was supposed to be different, but it was just lonelier with all the people avoiding her after she had raised her expectations so high. Not everyone had shied away, the mages around her age were nice, but she could see that they had already formed their cliques and there wasn't any room for her there, so she didn't bother trying. She stayed for a week because she had nowhere better to go, but it was so lonely.
Until Laxus returned.
She remembered everything about when he arrived. The way he strode through the doors filled to the brim with confidence and closely followed by Freed, Lyon, and Bickslow (though she didn't know their names at the time). How the whole guild fell quiet in his presence and watched him like mice watching a hawk. The way his eyes scanned the room and disregarded everyone but her. Even through her glasses she felt him look into her eyes and she knew that he'd do the same even if he knew what her magic did and wasn't wearing the glasses. Then he had walked up the to the second floor and the three men with him sat at the table closest to the stairs and Evergreen now knew why it had always been conspicuously empty. The chatter slowly refilled the guild hall, but Evergreen paid it no mind. Instead, she focused on the blonde man and how much she wanted to talk to him.
A few days later she got her wish when Bickslow approached her table and told her that Laxus wanted to talk to her. Evergreen was nervous as he led her out back to where Laxus was waiting for her. He stood flanked on both sides by Freed and Lyon and Bickslow joined them at his back when they arrived. Evergreen could feel sweat nervously dripping down her back but paid it no mind. She had wanted this but now that she was here, she didn't know what to do. Her jaw was glued shut and her mouth was dry. Words formed in her mind but kept getting stuck in her throat. The silence was deafening. Just when she thought she was going to crack, Laxus spoke.
"The guild is afraid of you."
Evergreen flinched at his words and waited for him to say more. When he remained silent, she confirmed his words.
"Why?"
She told him it was because of her eyes and he snorted in disbelief.
"It's because they're weak. Your eyes have a power that no one understands and that scares them, which means that you scare them by association. So, the guild that claims to be one big happy family shows their true colors and shuns a member just because they don't understand her. They abandon her and cast her aside because she's powerful and that scares them. How pathetic."
Evergreen averted her eyes in embarrassment and shame. Everything Laxus had just said was true. She had chosen Fairy Tail specifically because of her love for fairies and because they were supposed to be a family, but they hadn't let her in. There were no open arms welcoming her, just more aside glances and whispered fears about her eyes.
"Take off your glasses."
Evergreen felt the blood drain out of her face and pool into her stomach; an uncomfortably familiar feeling. She knew what happened when people saw her eyes. She didn't want to do that to this man, to blow the only chance she would have to be accepted. Yet, she wanted to try. She wanted to believe that this time would be different, that this time she'd get it right. So, with shaking hands she reached up and removed her glasses but kept her head down.
"Look at me."
Evergreen raised her head and found a pair of gray eyes boring into her own dark brown ones. Laxus didn't turn away, he didn't flinch in fear, he just stared unblinking. Evergreen felt her magic start to manifest, saw the way that the men around him tensed, yet Laxus never moved a muscle. She fought against her magic and forced it down until the threat passed. It might have been her imagination and inexperience at reading the looks in people's eyes, but Evergreen thought that she saw satisfaction (and maybe a hint of pride) in Laxus's.
"Look at them."
She turned to his bodyguards and found them all meeting her gaze as well. Freed had pushed the hair that normally covered his right eye back so that she saw both of his blue eyes. Bickslow removed his helmet, revealing a stylized man tattooed on his face and eyes that glowed with a permanent magic that Evergreen recognized. He knew what she was going through better than she did. Lyon's cold black eyes stared at her in indifference, but they still stared at her.
Tears formed in Evergreen's eyes and threatened to spill over as she looked at the four men before her. They weren't afraid of her. They accepted her, uncontrolled eyes and all. She wouldn't need to dress in ridiculously skimpy clothing to keep their eyes off of her face, she wouldn't need to wear glasses, she could be herself.
Laxus held out his hands and opened his arms wide to welcome her in. "You're strong like us, Evergreen. We understand you better than anyone else in the guild can. Join us."
He didn't have to ask twice. Evergreen let her glasses fall to the side and walked forward to start a new chapter in her life. Laxus should only have the strongest at his side—would have the strongest at his side. She would get strong so that she could remain there. She'd become the strongest female mage in Fairy Tail. For the Thunder God, Evergreen would become the Fairy Queen.
Freed joined the Thunder God Tribe after Bickslow and was the one to name their team, but he only truly joined the team after Evergreen had brought their numbers up to four. Initially, Freed had been tasked by Master Makarov to spy on Laxus and his friends to make sure that they didn't get out of hand or follow in Ivan's footsteps. Freed trusted the old mage's judgement and had readily agreed to join the team. It helped that none of its members were bad looking and he had been struggling to connect with the rest of the guild.
Freed started out loyal to his mission and used the few times that they stopped by the guild to stock up on jobs and flaunt how much stronger they were than the other mages to report in to Makarov that there was nothing amiss with his grandson. Laxus was a powerful mage that didn't take it easy on anyone, but he wasn't a problem like Ivan.
But, as Freed began to spend more and more time with Laxus, he began to become enamored with the man. Laxus was powerful for sure, but it wasn't his strength that brought Freed to his side, the older S-Class mages and Makarov himself were far stronger than Laxus at the time. It wasn't his looks, though he did appreciate his strong jaw and dashing scar. It wasn't just that he had the natural charisma of a leader, taking charge of situations and issuing orders that best utilized his followers. No, what brought Freed to his side was that Laxus judged you by your strength and nothing else. He didn't care about your sexuality, gender, race, religion, circumstances, or history, he only cared if you were strong. And if you were strong, then he accepted you. Respected you. For Laxus, respect was earned, not given. Even though the members of the Thunder God Tribe were weaker than him—which was to be expected when they were being compared to a mage of Laxus's caliber—he still considered them strong, so they had his respect.
Freed wrestled with the decision for weeks, but he eventually brought up the courage to come out as a mole planted by Makarov to spy on Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe. The others were furious, but Laxus just took it in stride. He asked Freed why he was telling him this and Freed told him the truth. He couldn't stand to lie to Laxus and the others anymore. He was a member of the Thunder God Tribe first and Fairy Tail second. Laxus was his master, not Makarov. Laxus had smiled at him and clasped his shoulder. He told him that it was a brave thing to admit that to them like this with lightning sparking off of his powerful form, but Freed wasn't afraid. He deserved anything Laxus was going to do to him.
And he forgave him. Laxus forgave him for being a spy. He respected his loyalty and actually said that it would be useful to turn this betrayal around on his grandfather. Freed had cried when Laxus told him that. When he learned that not only was he not hated for what he had done, but he was actually even more useful because of it. He would feed Makarov false information about them and keep the old master in the dark about Laxus's true plans and strength. Then, he revealed his plan to take his rightful place as the Fourth Master of Fairy Tail.
When Freed received his forgiveness and heard Laxus's plan, he understood. Laxus deserved to be Fairy Tail's next master. He had the lineage, being the great-grandson of one of the founding members and the grandson of its current master. He was the better choice than Kuzan (a lazy bum who insists that he's "semi-retired"), Gildarts (an absent-minded fool that caused thousands of jewels worth of damage if he so much as sneezed in the wrong direction), or Ur (a failure of a teacher that had failed to protect her last guild from an attack and help her daughter control her magic which had led to the child's death). Yes, Freed couldn't help but be drawn in by Laxus. His power, his charisma, his leadership, his vision, his fairness. Everything about him was amazing. Truly, he was a man beyond compare.
So, Freed resumed his role as the leader of the Thunder God Tribe and Laxus's most devoted follower. He would be eternally grateful to Laxus for accepting him back under his wing and letting him serve at his side. He knew that Laxus would never see him as more than a friend at best, but that was okay. He didn't have to love him back as long as he never pushed him away. All Freed wanted out of this world was to stand at the side of the man he loved and ensure that his dreams come true.
Laxus slowly woke from his drug-induced slumber to the familiar sound of hospital equipment that he had hated ever since he could remember. His body sluggishly started to respond to his demands, and he reached up to free his right eye from the bandages that blocked his sight. He knew that he wasn't supposed to remove them yet, but just like last time he didn't care. He had felt Argus's magic cauterize his wounds instantly, there was no fixing what happened, so he wouldn't bother pretending that there was a chance.
His shifting around and increased heartbeat alerted the Thunder God Tribe that their master was awake, and they quickly flocked to his side. Laxus was soon overwhelmed by a cacophony of noise that mixed relief that he was awake and healthy with apologies for being too weak and reassurances that it would never happen again.
All of the noise was giving Laxus a headache. He raised his hand and said, "Quiet." The mages instantly went silent and backed up from his bed to give him some space. Laxus reached up and finished his original task, allowing him to see clearly. He looked to Lyon, "Mirror."
Lyon held out his hand and a sheet of reflective ice appeared to show Laxus the angry red scars on his cheek that overlapped with his previous one. The three scars combined to form a lightning bolt over his right eye. Laxus scowled at the sight of it and Lyon dismissed the mirror without being asked. Laxus shoved his anger down and ran an appraising eye over his followers. They had clearly done their best to make downplay any obvious signs of injury, but Laxus remembered what they had looked like when he had arrived to fight Argus. He knew what to look for and quickly found the tells they failed to hide. Bickslow's head frequently cocked to the side as if someone the rest of them couldn't hear was talking to him and he refused to look at any of the lights or monitors in the room. He hadn't replaced his dolls and likely had a concussion. Any exposed skin Lyon had was covered in scabs and he noticed the man scratch at certain areas under his clothes. Whenever his hands reappeared there was blood on his fingers and nails. Evergreen had strange markings on her right arm and left hand that looked like someone had cracked the skin without drawing blood, likely a result of cracking when she was a statue. Freed winced if he had to bend too far, was favoring his right leg, and let his left arm rest on his sword too heavily to just be relaxing. Bruised, if not cracked, ribs, definitely cracked one of the bones in his left leg, and his left arm should be in a sling.
The sight of his followers injured made Laxus's blood boil and it took a great effort on his part to bring his heart rate and blood pressure back under control. Damned machines were making it hard to hide his emotions. He needed to get them out of the room before the inevitable fury would appear when he reviewed the fight against Beholder Eye in his head. "You did well against an opponent such as Argus," he complimented, seeing the adoration appear in their eyes. "But there is still obvious room for improvement." That ruined the elation and brought them back. Determined gazes met his as they nodded in agreement. Good, they understood that they still needed to get stronger. "We'll start training harder before the next job. Now, leave me. I need to regain the rest of my strength."
They protested leaving him, as expected. He "begrudgingly" allowed them to post a guard outside his room under the condition that the rest of them rested (he couldn't have any of his guards functioning at less than one hundred percent) and chose Evergreen to keep first watch. If he let them choose then Freed would insist that he take first watch and would keep it for far too long despite being the worse off of the lot of them. This way, Evergreen got the attention and praise she craved while the more heavily injured got the rest they needed.
Satisfied at the perceived compromise, the mages withdrew and left Laxus alone with his thoughts. Once he was satisfied that they had left, Laxus overcharged the machines so that they stopped tracking his vital signs and finally let his anger loose. Sparks shot off of Laxus's hunched figure as he stuffed a pillow into his mouth and screamed his muffled rage into it. The metal frame of his hospital bed twisted under his grip as he fought against the urge to fry everything in the room and roar his fury to the heavens. He managed to resist the temptation and after he finished getting that out of his system, Laxus spat out the pillow and released the mangled remains of his bedframe. He waited for a moment to see if Evergreen had heard any of his (minor) outburst. Satisfied that she hadn't been alerted, he began to review the fight in his head and went over every mistake that occurred.
There weren't a lot, but the ones he had made were crucial. Instead of letting the Thunder God Tribe handle the small fry so that he could take down the guild master, he had allowed himself to be drawn away from Argus and let the dark mage take his allies away from him. Then he had fought around his heavily injured allies and allowed them to be used as hostages against him when he should have used his initial attack to grab Argus by the head and drag him to a less crowded location. Beyond that, he had handled things pretty well. The real problem wasn't his performance, it was that Argus thought that he'd be able to defeat him and his team in the first place.
Beholder Eyes' master had made it pretty clear that he did not respect Fairy Tail as the strongest guild in Ishgar, which meant that he didn't fear them, which meant he thought he had a chance against them, which led to Laxus and his team getting ambushed by a someone who should have been sent scurrying for shelter at the mention of Fairy Tail mages coming for him. Fairy Tail was the strongest guild in Ishgar bar none. Jose and his horde of flunkies couldn't compare to them, despite what the delusional Wizard Saint liked to claim. They had himself, his grandfather, the Strongest Man in the West, a half-giant capable of killing one of Zeref's demons, and another Wizard Saint. The mere mention of a Fairy Tail mage on a job should make even a member of the Balam Alliance quiver in their boots.
But it didn't, and that was the problem.
Like Argus had said, Fairy Tail's reputation was built off the back of a small portion of their members. There wasn't just a gap between the regulars and the S-Class, there was a fucking chasm. That was also true among the S-Class mages. Erza and Mira were nothing compared to the other four. He could take them both on at once and wouldn't even need his Dragon Slayer Lacrima to win. Most of the guild was just riding on the coattails of the other, stronger mages. That needed to change. Fairy Tail needed to change. No more would they be the family guild that accepted all applicants, you'd have to earn your place in Fairy Tail. If you made the guild look bad, you were out. If you publicly showed weakness, you were out. If you couldn't meet a certain quota of jobs completed, you were out. There'd be an aptitude test at the end of every month and if you didn't pass it, you were out. They'd only have the best in Fairy Tail, and then they'd be known as the best in all of Ishgar. There couldn't be any weakness in his guild.
Unbidden, Laxus's thoughts turned to the small blonde boy that was always stuck in a hospital room. The machines around him beeped in a constant rhythm as the doctors told his father and grandfather that nothing could be done for him, he was just going to be plagued by a weak constitution his entire life as a result from the complicated birth that had killed his mother. He wasn't supposed to hear that, but no one had been watching him and he'd snuck up to the door to see what the adults were talking about. He heard his father curse in anger and defiance to the prognosis while his gramps accepted it in stony silence. The boy had returned to his bed, curled into a ball, and cried.
He remembered the other kids playing outside while he had been forced to watch from the sidelines, too weak to join in on their games. He remembered watching the mages perform fantastic acts of magic like his father and grandfather and being jealous that he'd never get the chance to do anything like that because of his weakness. The other kids were healthy, the other mages were strong, why couldn't he be like them? He had asked Gramps, but the old man had sadly told him that it was just the way he had been born, there was nothing that could be done about it. The boy had been crushed to hear that, but Gramps wouldn't lie to him, so it had to be true. He had spent the next several weeks in a constant state of jealousy and despair over the lost opportunities that he had never had, consumed by his weakness.
Then his father returned with a solution.
He offered him a chance to play with the other kids, to cast magic, to become strong. All the boy had to do was let his father put this special Lacrima inside of him. When the boy asked his father why Gramps hadn't tried to do this since he knew so much about magic, his father replied that it was a dangerous technique and Gramps was worried that the boy couldn't handle it. But the boy was strong, wasn't he? Maybe not in body, but definitely strong in spirit. He was strong enough to survive the process no problem. But if he wasn't strong enough and didn't want to try, then his father understood. He wouldn't force him to get rid of his weak constitution and become a mage in one go if he didn't want to.
The boy insisted that he was strong and that he wanted the Lacrima inside him. His father told him how proud he was at the boy's grownup decision and went through with the ritual to implant the Lightning Dragon Slayer Lacrima into the boy. The process was painful, and the boy thought that he was going to die at some points, but it was worth it in the end. The boy could breathe easier, wasn't plagued by random coughs, didn't bruise easily, the sun didn't hurt his eyes, he could run longer, move faster, and was just overall better after the process. More importantly, Laxus could feel magic power thrumming through his body and it emerged in sparks of lightning at his will. His dad smiled at him and clasped his shoulder and told him that he was strong now, but he could get stronger. Laxus readily agreed, and his dad then started training him in combat and magic.
Gramps had been furious at Ivan for doing that to Laxus, but he couldn't argue with the results. Laxus was stronger, happier, more vibrant and full of life than he had ever been before. Having that Lacrima put into him was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Thanks to it, he would never be a weak little boy ever again.
Laxus shook himself from his memories and refocused on his goal. Originally, he had planned on training to get strong enough to defeat Ur and show his grandfather that he was strong enough to run the guild, but it was obvious that he needed to accelerate his plans. He'd have to train himself and his followers harder and longer in order to make sure the guild's reputation wouldn't become unsalvageable. He hated to admit it, but the other S-Class mages were currently stronger than him, something that needed to be rectified before he could take power. As for the rest of the guild, there were some rising stars that were showing a bit of promise, but they weren't rising fast enough to outshine the drunk weaklings that made up the bulk of their members, or the straight up alcoholics that made up their elites. If they didn't pick up the pace soon, Laxus was going to have to come up with a better, more radical way to divide the weak and the strong in Fairy Tail. It would have to be a long-term plan, but it would be necessary. He had already gathered and cultivated a group of strong, loyal followers that would help him with his vision for the guild, but he needed more than four people to fix this mess. He just needed to take the time to set up a new plan and give the others time to grow. Once he knew where Fairy Tail was standing in the near future, it would determine how drastic of measures he'd have to take. Until then, he'd bide his time and observe while carrying the reputation of Fairy Tail to greater heights on his own—with a little assistance from the Thunder God Tribe.
Because, at the end of the day, there would be a new age for Fairy Tail. A renaissance of strength and power that would erase all doubt and debate over who was the strongest guild in all of Ishgar. Fairy Tail would rise to the top of the continent, and it would be taken there by the Thunder God. He'd be the guild's fourth master, and never again would the guild—and by extension himself—be seen as weak ever again.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The cards in Cana's hand were haphazardly scattered around the battlefield as she went flying through the air from Natsu's punch. She grit her teeth and tried to get to her feet but her body refused to comply and she was left lying in the dirt.
"Alright, that's match. Natsu wins," Gildarts announced with a raised hand.
"Haha! Yes!" Natsu cheered with a toothy grin. He then walked over to where Cana was still struggling to get to her feet and held out a hand. "Better luck next time, Cana."
Instead of grabbing the hand as expected, Cana slapped it away. The assembled mages all stopped what they were doing at the sound and stared at her. They were sparring to prepare for the upcoming S-Class trials next month. Gildarts had let slip that Elfman, Natsu, and Cana were all going to be candidates this year, so instead of rushing for jobs like they usually did, the trio had taken to practicing against each other and Mira in various competitions. It was all in good fun, at least, it had been until now.
"Don't you 'Better luck next time' me," the Card Mage told the Dragon Slayer with venom in her voice. She shoved two fingers into his face. "Two times. In all the practices we've had I've only ever beaten you two times." And those had all been gimmick matches where they practiced in random conditions that she was able to use to her advantage, so they didn't really count.
"Yeah, so?"
Cana glowered at Natsu. "So? So?! So, what's the point of practicing?! You're just going to kick my ass here and during the trials! Everyone knows that it's either you or Gray who's going to be promoted. I don't even see why I'm wasting my time pretending I have a chance." She stormed to her feet and stomped over to the house. "To hell with this. I have better things to do than let you kick me around like a fucking soccer ball."
"Cana—" Gildarts called out, only to be met with an even angrier response.
"Fuck. OFF! Gildarts!"
The door slammed behind her and the backyard was silent. The teens worriedly looked at Gildarts, who seemed to sag in place and age in front of them. He lowered his hand back to his side and just let out a heavy sigh. "I guess she's done for today," he pointlessly said. He lazily waved his hand around in their general direction. "I guess we'll swap it around. Natsu versus Mira. Elfman versus Lisanna. Go…" he trailed off before taking a heavy seat on a stump and not-so-subtly staring at the backdoor.
Mira scowled at the sight of Gildarts so defeated. He was Gildarts! He wasn't supposed to be defeated or weary, he was supposed to be joking around and knocking them out with one punch like a badass. Where the fuck did Cana get off being a total bitch to him like that? She was going to give her a piece of her mind!
"Natsu, spar with Elfman," she ordered.
"Aye."
Mira stalked over to the house with a determined stride and righteous anger. "What are you doing, Mira?" Gildarts asked with a bit of a warning tone.
It wasn't the tone he used when he was being serious, so Mira didn't stop. "I'm just going to go beat some sense into Cana."
"Mira."
There was the warning tone. "It'll be fine. I won't hurt her," she reassured him. "Much," she finished under her breath.
Gildarts missed the last-minute addition and let her continue on her warpath. Once inside, Mira made a beeline for Cana's room. The door was shut, but the angry teen didn't let that stop her. Locking your door in this house just meant that you were probably going to spend the next few days with it broken until a new one could be delivered. Mira barged into Cana's room and felt her fiery rage instantly get replaced with frozen blood.
Cana sat on her bed with empty bottles strewn around her and tears in her eyes. Silent sobs wracked her shoulders and she only suppressed them long enough to start chugging from the bottle in her hand. Mira quickly strode across the room, noticing a disturbingly large number of empty bottles strewn about the room on the way there. Cana was a pretty heavy drinker, but even she couldn't have finished this many in such a short time. This wasn't a new development. She snatched the bottle out of her hand but didn't even get more than an annoyed "hey". That was wrong. Cana should have been furious that someone stole her drink. It was like ruining one of Erza's strawberry cakes, an instant cause for violent retaliation. Instead, Cana just dully glared at Mira before reaching over the side of her bed and going for a new bottle out of her mini fridge.
Mira shoved her foot into the fridge's door and declared, "Nope!"
Cana glared at her through red eyes. "What gives, bitch?"
"That's rich coming from you after that shit you just pulled." Mira crossed her arms and stared down at Cana without moving her foot. "What the fuck was that?"
Cana belligerently stared back. "Nothing," she weakly argued. Sniffing against the mucus building in her nose. She wiped the back of her hand across her face and claimed, "I was just tired of Natsu kicking me around the backyard."
"Bull-fucking-shit. You don't snap at anybody like that, especially Gildarts and Natsu. I've seen them do stupider things that you just roll your eyes at. Something's got your panties in a twist and you aren't drinking another drop until you tell me what it is." Mira leaned a little harder on the fridge, causing the metal to groan as her bootprint started to form in the door. "Start talking."
Cana glared at Mira in fury. She started to open her mouth to say something, closed it, then opened it again. The white-haired teen watched the emotions war on Cana's face for a solid minute before the fire left her and she slumped over in defeat. Mira expected her to start talking, what she didn't expect was to see tears falling to the floor and brunette's sobs to renew even worse. Before she could say anything, the floodgates opened and all of Cana's pent-up emotions came pouring out of her in a stream of tears and howling cries.
Panic flared through Mira's mind, rendering her immobile for a moment before her instincts as an older sister took over and she enveloped Cana in a hug. "It's okay, just let it out." And Cana did. She clutched at Mira and cried into her shoulder while the older girl rocked her back and forth. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, but eventually Cana's cries began to weaken and her grip slackened. She finally settled down and her sobs dissolved into sniffles and a few hiccups. "Better?" Mira asked while patting her back. Cana nodded into her shoulder and she gently pulled her away. "I'm going to get you some water and tissues and then we're going to calm down and talk about whatever the hell this was, okay?" Another nod and Mira hesitantly left the room.
She quickly returned to find Cana with her knees curled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She offered her the tissues first to wipe the tears and snot off her face then the water. "Don't drink it too fast. We'll talk when you're ready."
"It's fine, Mira, I'm—"
"If you finish that sentence I'm going to slap you," the white-haired girl interrupted with a scowl. Cana flinched under her gaze and absently rubbed at her cheek to reassure herself there wasn't an imprint of the other girl's hand in her cheek. When Mira slapped someone, they felt it. "Whatever that was wasn't 'fine' and you don't get to brush it off like it didn't happen. We're going to talk about it and if you try to avoid it I'm going to beat the stupid out of you until you do."
Cana let out a weak chuckle, "Heh, I remember you telling me that before."
"I meant it then and I mean it now."
The brunette sipped her water and blankly stared at the wall. Mira hopped onto the bed next to her and put her arm around her shoulder. She squeezed the younger teen close and said, "C'mon, Cana, talk to me. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."
"It's just frustrating," Cana finally said. "No matter how many times I fight Natsu he keeps winning. Any new trick I come up with only works so many times before he's figured out how to avoid it. No matter how many times or how hard I hit him he just keeps springing back up like a hotheaded jack-in-the-box!" Cana's voice started to get louder and she gripped her head beneath her hair. "And he doesn't even have to! Fuck, if he wanted to he could just Sword Horn his thick-ass head through literally everything I throw at him and knock me out with a fucking headbutt. It's just not fair!" She ineffectively slammed her hand down on the mattress. "I train and train and train, but I just can't catch up to him! Why does he get to be so much stronger?! Why couldn't I have been born with a stronger magic? Something that would let me crush everything in my path like Gildarts? Instead, all I get to do is throw cards at people like I'm playing 52-pickup."
"One, nobody wants magic like Gildarts. He's tripped over a bug and taken out a village before," Mira joked. Cana didn't even crack a smile. She needed a different approach. "Besides, that's not true. Just because you can't set everything in a three-mile radius on fire doesn't mean that you aren't strong. You made it into the S-Class Trials with those card tricks."
Cana stared Mira dead in the eye and asked, "Will that win me the trial?"
"Uh…"
"Will. My card tricks. Win the trial. Against Natsu?"
Mira tried to come up with a reason to say yes but couldn't. She considered lying, but the look in Cana's eye told her that would be a mistake. She had to admit that it wouldn't. "No."
"Then that's not good enough!" Cana shouted while jumping off the bed and pacing the room. "I need to win. I need to be an S-Class mage."
"Okay, so you can't beat Natsu yet and he's a shoo-in for making S-Class this year; big deal. There's always next year," Mira tried to reason.
"Easy for you to say!" Cana snapped. She stopped her pacing and turned to face Mira with a thunderous expression. "What about Gray? He fights with Natsu all the time and they've never to get more than a two-victory lead over each other. Do I beat him with my tricks?"
"Well you could if—"
"He makes a bazooka as his opening move, Mira. I'm not breaking that with a fucking ace of spades," she cried out in exasperation. "The one thing I have on Natsu is that his only range is his dragon breath. Gray tries to make a cannon that can shoot a mile for fun. He's already broke the half a mile mark with a fucking bow. I could be walking through the woods and wake up at the medic tent because Gray caught a glimpse of me from across the island."
Cana resumed pacing and went even faster. "That's two people I can't beat like this. Assuming that they both pass in one year; I won't be able to make S-Class until I'm seventeen. And that's not taking Lyon or Freed into account, or anyone else Laxus has in his fucking cheer squad. Or anyone else strong that just wanders into the guild. We're getting pretty famous, ya know. People are joining right and left."
Cana was getting more and more hysterical as she listed all the things that could keep her from becoming an S-Class mage. It was starting to freak Mira out. She got up and grabbed Cana's shoulders to make her stop moving. "Cana calm down. You're going to make yourself sick. Why do you have to make S-Class so bad? I'll take you on any job you want, it's no problem. I'm sure Natsu will do it in a heartbeat too, you know how much he loves you."
"It's not about the jobs."
"Is it money? Whatever you need I can give it to you."
"It's not about fucking money."
"Then what? What's so fucking important that you're working yourself into a panic attack just because you can't pass a stupid test?"
"I need—! I need to prove myself," Cana said with difficulty
"To who?! We all know how strong you are! The whole fucking guild knows! You don't have to prove yourself to anyone!"
"Yes, I do!"
"No, you don't! You're amazing! Who's so goddamn special and important and stupid that you have to prove yourself to them?"
"Gildarts!"
"Gildarts? He knows how great you are, he won't shut up about it. He's the last person you have to prove yourself too. What makes you think that?"
"Because he's my dad!"
The silence in the room was deafening. Only the sounds of the girls' heavy breathing could be heard as they stared at each other. Mira in incomprehension, Cana in shame. The Take-Over Mage couldn't think clearly, her brain struggling to process the information she had just learned. She could feel the blood vacating her face to congeal in her stomach that was making her sick. Gildarts couldn't be Cana's father. But you've always thought their faces were similar. It was impossible. You know that Gildarts sleeps around a lot. The only surprise is that Cana's an only child. He would never abandon Cana, abandon any of them. He wasn't always like that. You remember the weeks that he would stay away years ago. How had she never realized that Cana was hiding a secret like this? You've always known that she's been hiding something.
While Mira was struggling with her thoughts, Cana collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling while kicking her legs over the edge. The white-haired teen eventually made her way over to the bed and sat next to Cana. "Your brain done breaking yet?"
"Wha-? How?"
"Well when a man and woman love each other very much…" Cana sarcastically began. She stopped when Mira raised a clenched fist in front of her face. She held up her hands in a placating gesture, "Alright, alright, just trying to lighten the mood."
"Don't," Mira advised.
"So, Gildarts and my mom got married and had me when they were young but broke up before I was born. Mom never told him about me, but when she got sick she told me about him in case things got worse. They did, and I came here to find Gildarts. Of course, he wasn't around the guild when I showed up, so I joined to wait for him. When he finally appeared, his… presence scared me off. I tried walking up to him and saying something, but I couldn't get anything out. Makarov introduced me and he didn't recognize me or my name. After that, I just couldn't work up the courage to tell him."
"Even after he started looking after you and Natsu?"
Cana shrugged. "I figured that it was enough. He was already kinda acting like my dad then, figured that I shouldn't push it," she said with a rueful smile. "I made a deal with myself, that I'd tell him the truth when I became an S-Class mage. That'd be proof that I was strong enough to be his kid."
"That's stupid," Mira said with a scowl. "You're already his kid, everyone can see that."
Cana shrugged again. "It kind of is, but I can't help it. Anytime I think about telling him I break out in a cold sweat, swallow my tongue, and my knees and hands start shaking. Once I make S-Class I'll be able to tell him the truth, though."
An eyebrow was raised, and the white-haired girl skeptically asked, "You sure about that?
"One hundred percent."
"That's still stupid. I'm going to tell him," Mira declared. She rose to her feet and headed for the door, sending Cana into a panic.
"You can't!" she yelled while diving for Mira's legs. Her arms successfully wrapped around the older girl's limbs and she held them together, arresting her movement. "It's just two more years, I can wait that long!"
"You were literally just bitching about how long that is!" Mira complained while struggling against Cana's grip. Girl had locked up tight. "You're going to drink yourself to death before you tell him at this rate. I'm telling!"
"You can't!"
"Watch me!" Mira sprouted batlike wings from her back and started flying to the door while carrying the anchor that was Cana behind her.
"No, no, no! I'll make you a deal. Next year! I'll make S-Class next year and tell him then for sure!"
Mira stopped midair and looked down at Cana in exasperation. "What happened to Gray and his fucking bazooka?"
"That's where you come in! You want me to tell Gildarts the truth? Train me. Train me all of next year so that I get strong enough to beat Gray, Lyon, Freed, and any other crazy bastard that shows up at the guild. You and me, one-on-one."
"And then you'll tell Gildarts?"
A nod. "And then I'll tell Gildarts."
Mira regarded Cana for a long moment before relenting. "Fine. But know this: I'm going to put you through absolute hell until I'm satisfied that you can take on both Natsu and Gray at the same time. And if you can't, then tough shit. I'm dragging you to Gildarts and telling him loud enough for the entire guild to hear."
"Deal. My body is putty in your hands, mistress," Cana agreed with a mischievous smile.
"Gildarts is right outside. I could open a window and yell the truth to him right now. It wouldn't even take me ten seconds."
"Fine," Cana acquiesced. "You're no fun." They shook on it, then Cana pulled Mira into a tight hug and whispered, "Thank you."
Mira closed her eyes and accepted the hug. "You're welcome."
They kept hugging for a while, until Mira felt something where it didn't belong.
"Cana."
"Hmm?"
"Is that your hand on my ass?"
"It's an accident."
"Cana, your hand's still on my ass."
"It's still an accident!"
"God! Don't make it gay, Cana!"
"Hey, you joined me on my bed. I was perfectly happy to drink my problems away all by myself."
They broke the hug and looked at each other before breaking into laughter. Mira stood up and tugged on Cana's arm. "C'mon. Let's head back out before Gildarts sends someone in to look for us."
Cana let herself be pulled to her feet. "Alright."
"Hey, if you tell Gildarts the truth will you start calling him 'Dad'?"
"No way. It would be too weird."
"Why? I mean, he is your dad."
"Would you call him that if you found out he was really your dad?"
"Fair. Calling Gildarts 'Daddy' would just feel wrong."
Cana suppressed the urge to vomit and settled with shuddering. "Never use the words 'Gildarts' and 'daddy' in the same sentence again."
"Yeah, I regretted it as soon as I said it," Mira agreed with a slightly green face.
"…"
"…"
"If you called him that in front of Ur do you think it would be worth it?"
"…maybe. Their reactions would be amazing. She'd actually kill him though."
"True," Cana nodded in agreement. "Kuzan though…"
"…we couldn't have any other witnesses."
Omake: For the Aesthetic
Freed paused before he added the last rune to complete his Justu Shiki spell. He turned to the two men within the runes and asked the conscious one. "Are you sure you want to do this, Lyon?"
Laxus's oldest disciple nodded. "If I want to surpass Gray, Ur, and Kuzan then I have to. You saw how effective his magic was against my spells until I managed to regain control. Once I master that power, I'll be that much closer to defeating those three." He stared down at the former master of Beholder Eye. His methods were disgusting, (seriously, who would implant eyes into their body like that just for a power boost?) but you couldn't argue that they weren't effective. Lyon wasn't going to take it that far, but he was going to relieve the dark mage of a powerful weapon if he were to ever escape again. Lyon shot Freed an audacious grin. "Besides, now I'll fit in with the rest of the team."
The green-haired man was unamused. "Only if this works. I've never done anything like this before," he warned him.
"It will work, Freed. I believe in you," Lyon reassured him with a confident smile that made Freed's mouth lift up at the corner. Lyon's face returned to its usual serious disposition. "Now, do it."
Freed finished the last rune and activated his magic. Purple runes rose into the air and formed a box around Lyon and Argus. The runes then extended out from the walls and wrapped their way around Argus's hands and arms. They glowed with a bright light and the dark mage screamed out in pain. Meanwhile, runes crawled up Lyon's body and wrapped around his eyes. He didn't make a sound but tensed in preparation for what would come next. Shortly after Argus started screaming, the runes around Lyon lit up. He clenched his jaw and tried to power through the pain, but it proved too much and his screams joined Argus's own in a twisted duet.
Freed looked on in concern as this continued, glad to have set up another rune barrier around them that wouldn't allow any sound to leave the area. He had no idea how long a process like this could take, he had never heard of anything like it being done before with Jutsu Shiki. His rules were absolute inside of the Jutsu Shiki, but he had never checked to see how absolute they really were. He had needed to do a lot of research to figure out this combination and he wasn't completely happy with the results, but the Rune Knights were arriving to pick up Argus tomorrow, so this was their last chance. The runes said: "The ability to control icefrom one's eyes is swapped between any mages within these runes." Hopefully that would be clear enough for this to work.
Eventually, the light and screaming subsided and Freed dispelled the runes. He rushed forward to support a swaying Lyon and reached the mage in time for him to collapse. "Lyon, are you okay?"
"I'm good," the silver-haired teen replied while only slightly slurring his words.
"Did it work?"
"Lemme see." Lyon held out a hand and created an ice sparrow. The construct hopped on his hand a bit before starting to fly off. Lyon stared at it with intense concentration, but nothing happened. "How do I use these things?" he muttered mostly to himself.
"Concentrate on sending magic to your eyes, as if you were going to cast your magic from them instead of you hand," Freed advised.
Lyon followed his advice and refocused on the sparrow. This time, the construct was twisted in midair to turn into an icicle that pierced the ground when it landed. Lyon and Freed shared a victorious grin that allowed the green-haired mage to see that his teammate's eyes were glowing white and had turned into snowflakes with their new magic ability. "It worked!" Lyon declared.
"I had my doubts, but it seems that they were unfounded."
"Told you," Lyon said while trying to slug Freed in the arm and only managing to weakly slap his chest. "With these Cryo Eyes, no Ice Mage is a match for me now."
"Excellent," Freed said before his legs turned to jelly and he barely caught himself and Lyon before they faceplanted into the floor.
"Woah! Are you okay?"
"It seems that I greatly underestimated how much magic that would take out of me," Freed admitted before his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out.
The two collapsed onto the ground and Lyon just barely had enough strength to roll them onto their backs. He stared up at the ceiling and contemplated his position. "Freed passed out on top of me with our arms around each other and covered in sweat. If Bickslow finds us like this I'll never hear the end of it."
"Hey, Freed, Lyon, are you two down here?!" "Here, here, here?"
Fuck.
A/N: You get a backstory, and you get a backstory, and you get a backstory! Everyone gets a backstory! And none of them are happy because that's not allowed in Fairy Tail. Mira also learns who's Cana's dad is, so that's fun. Sidenote: Laxus's concept of the power scale is not indictive of the actual power scale, it's just his extremely biased understanding. Two more chapters to go, then we'll finally reach canon. Next up, The Beast fight.
In other news, Blue Pheasant just had its four-year anniversary! And it has a TV tropes page now! Big thanks to Smokersharingan212 for initially setting that up. Thanks for sticking with me for these last four years and here's to not taking another four to finish this fic! Until next time, later.