What is this? An update! BEFORE January? Yes. Yes it is. No, I'm not sure I believe it either. But even so ... rejoice! I decided to give my brain a break from my original novel (would you guys/gals be interested in reading that by the way? I am seriously, legitimately trying to get it published sometime in late 2018) and so I took turns working on either this story or Melodies every virtual write-in. As such, I now have this chapter, a second chapter, most of a third chapter (Christmas chapter that is finally on schedule!) and a one-shot all pre-written for you. I also have two Melodies chapters finished and waiting for edits, so hopeful an update will but up on that story soon. Also, I won NaNo again, so I am a happy camper right now.
Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! Maybe ... read this chapter to discover the answers! Thank you, NaNo went well! I hope you enjoy the update!
Dear Lightsbane1905, hello there! Combined? (grins) You'd have to be sitting here, in another town that is in another country that is in an entirely different dimension. Otherwise you're chances are 70/40 in favor of Fairy Tail with the odds dropping the closer you are to Magnolia. For JUST a birthday bash, being on the other side of the country is usually enough to keep you safe.
Dear Draconicflare, hi! Oh, I remember you! I still have that rule saved in my plot notes somewhere, I totally intend to use it someday. I hope you enjoyed the side story! Too true. Fairy Tail Luck is basically what you get when Karma gets rip-roaring drunk. Hmmmm, actually no. Her nightmares, while they ARE something and are important to the plot (way, way, way later on) are not seer magic. Wren cannot see the future aside from what she remembers of the anime/manga. Exactly, and the more of them there are, the worse it gets. Just wait until Christmas rolls around, then everyone except Gildarts is going to be there... Freed and Evergreen have always struck me as near-cultists with their devotion to Laxus in the anime, especially Freed. Hopefully Wren will tame their fan-isms a bit as they get older. I'll cover Bickslow's birthday later, and Wren's is the same date it was back in her world, just people will assume the year is different. Yes, she was physically three when she first arrived in Earthland. Hope you enjoy the newest chapter!
Dear BlackDove WhiteDove, hello! Yep, more nightmares. They won't be going away anytime soon either I'm afraid. Freed is adorable, he's growing on me the same way Bickslow did when I first started writing him. You're welcome and I hope you enjoy the newest update!
Dear Shamwoohoo52, hey there! Actually, you only have to wait a month this time. I managed to get some work down in between editing my NaNo project. I know, I used to keep a schedule, but I'm a slow writer who writes long chapters and so keeping a schedule, even every two weeks, is basically impossible. Oh well, here's an update for now!
Dear FanofOC's greetings! That is intentional on my part, as I want it to be a surprise and romance is much farther down the line in the story anyway (she's still physically a kid after all). I really don't want to say who she will end up with here in the Review Response as I don't want to spoil it for everyone else. I can now say that Laxus is not an option, as he has been placed firmly in the big-brother role. If you really must know who and you have a FanFiction account, send me a PM and I'll tell you that way. Or wait and be surprised, if you have the patience for it, might be more rewarding that way.
Dear de junco, hey there! You're welcome and it's fine, I'm just happy you decided to review now! Thank you for your lovely review, I really enjoy fleshing out background characters and showing things the series didn't cover, it's nice to know that you're enjoy it as well! She does need her boys just as much as they need her. Glad you enjoy their relationship, it's one of my favorite aspects of the story to write so far. Laxus is, in fact, more grounded than in the show, I figured he and Cana were good ways to start showing Wren's AU effect on the story (albeit slowly). Ask away! I do get this question a lot, but that's fine. To answer it; yes, there will be time skips. The first one will take place right after this arc is finished, actually, but will only be a minor timeskip to Wren's first Fairy Tail Christmas. After that, I'll be making minor hops through the timeline to start reaching the anime. I intend to keep up a relatively slow pace, but hopefully we'll get to see the main cast as kids trickle in soon. Also, if you want to see a sneak peak of Fairy Tail in the future, check out my one-shot collection Amongst Untrodden Ways: Detours (if you haven't already of course). You're welcome and have a great week!
Dear gryffindorandcats, hello! So happy to hear it! Having my story compared positively to the original show has to be one of the highest compliments I've ever received on a story, so thank you!
Dear aoi6154, greetings! Aww, so thrilled to hear it! I'm having a lot of fun with this story, and it's wonderful to hear/read how much other people enjoy reading it.
Dear The Ancient Phoenix, hi there! You're welcome, it occurred to me that the old way would be confusing. I can't read kanji, so I can't add them in the translations page, but I hope they help anyway. Oh, she knows her birthday (just not the Earthland year for it), but nobody else knows her birthday and that hasn't occurred to her yet. So thrilled to know you love it! The 'main cast' so to speak will show up more dominantly as time goes on (especially in certain anime arcs), but I hope to keep the focus on Wren and the Raijinshū rather than constantly rehash episodes over and over.
Dear WolfGirl01, hello! Read on to see what happens next! The balloon attack might become a thing in a later chapter, but not right now. This is actually a more serious (if short) arc.
Author's Note: So minor cliffy warning. Shouldn't be too bad, no worse than an actual two-part episode in the anime, but there you go. Not much I can say in this note without giving spoilers, so I think I'll just let you all go ahead and read the story.
Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Reprisal
(Six months, three weeks, two days since joining guild).
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Freed fidgeted with his shoulder-length hair as he padded down the street. Every few steps, he paused to stare intently into the shop windows, trying to find a gift worthy of Laxus-sama. Mest-san had been kind enough to suggest several things, since Laxus-sama refused to offer any ideas himself. The teleportation mage had even been nice enough to escort Evergreen and Freed to one of the smaller shopping districts, citing that he had his own shopping to do when Freed had worried about causing an inconvenience.
Evergreen and he had decided to split up in order to better search for gifts and Mest-san had told them to rendezvous in an hour or two at the steps of the famous Kardia Cathedral when they were done. Freed had some money —lent from the team fund upon Wren-sama's insistence— in his pocket, but he had yet to find anything suitable within his price-range.
He pondered mournfully that this entire enterprise would have been much easier if he'd still had access to his family's funds. His allowance back then had been at least twice the amount of money he currently possessed. Freed felt a deep pang of grief at the thought of his family and the life he and Evergreen had been forced to leave behind, but managed to shove it to the back of his mind after a few moments. He had to focus on his Important Task of finding his first birthday present to Laxus-sama.
Freed checked the time with the small magic pocket watch he'd received for his seventh birthday and hummed nervously when he realized that he'd been wandering around for two hours now. Mest-san had said to make his way to Kardia Cathedral after two hours, but it had sounded more like a suggestion than an order and he couldn't return empty-handed surely? But then, Mest-san was his senior in the Raijinshū. Did that mean his suggestion was more akin to an order and being late to the rendezvous would be a breach of the Rules? Freed didn't know. He wrestled with the dilemma for so long that by the time he decided to head to Kardia Cathedral just to be safe, he looked up to find himself in a completely unfamiliar section of Magnolia.
Freed bit his lip, oh dear… This wasn't the shopping district. He almost thought it was a residential district, but a second examination of his surroundings showed shop signs —all with a predominantly red color-scheme— hanging from the windows of most of the buildings. The signs all had names and … advertising images … that made his face turn tomato as soon as he finished registering them. Oh. Oh. So that's what Kashakawa-san meant by a Red Light district…
Freed looked around uneasily, trying to figure out the fastest way out of the area without actually looking at any of the signs and … things. At least it was still daylight and there seemed to be hardly anyone around at the moment. Over the tops of the buildings, Freed spotted the spires of Kardia Cathedral to his left and breathed a sigh of relief. Trying his absolute hardest not to make eye-contact with any of the few people in the area or look at the … advertisements … again, Freed took off down the nearest alley in the direction of Kardia Cathedral.
Because Freed was not an idiot —he may have only been ten but his kā-san had told him the Rules for what to do when lost many times— he kept one hand tucked in his pocket, clenched tight around his magic Light Pen and the shape of a defensive rune in the forefront of his thoughts.
The red light district was quickly left behind —it was apparently smaller than Freed had thought it was— but he didn't dare stop as he padded around trash cans and sidestepped any shadows that looked deep enough to be inhabited. More than once Freed had to pause to double-check his bearings, feeling more than a little thankful that Kardia Cathedral was so much taller compared to the other buildings.
The alleys began to widen as he approached the more central areas of Magnolia. Freed felt his muscles begin to relax and he had just started to contemplate returning to the main streets for quicker travel now that alleys were more likely to house disreputable folk than the main streets of the current district when stray voices caught his ears from a nearby alley.
"-are especially rare on the market. Better to sell them whole and reproducible rather than risk damage from improper sanitization of equipment." Freed stopped at the sound of the graveled voice, startled and wary. He took a step back, ready turn and go the other way for a bit and ignore the questionable legality of what he just heard. I mean, it's not like there's a Rule against discussing business behind a house … right? None of my business. I promised Laxus-sama I would stay out of trouble-
"Don't touch my sister, you bloody bast-!" The familiar voice froze Freed's feet to the floor even as something struck flesh and the shout cut off with a gasp. Freed felt his heart roar in his ears, that sounded like- a low hiss came from the direction of the voices and Freed found his body moving without his consent to huddle low against a wall and peer around the corner.
Eight men stood in a loose circle, the majority of them focused on the two figures huddled in the center of their formation while a tall, imposing man with black hair snarled at a shorter blond, "Careful with the merchandise!" The black-haired man then leered down at the two huddled figures, "And I suggest you two stay quiet. Broken ribs are a hassle to heal and with your magic, I wouldn't have to bother with it to get a decent market price on you two."
Another low hiss came from the smaller of the figures, but Freed could barely hear it over the thunder of his terrified heart in his ears. It's them. It's them. It's-them-it's-them-what-do-I-what-do-I-do-what-do-I-do? Freed had no solid idea of what was going on, or even how such a thing was possible because Laxus-sama had promised that this city was safe, that no one would harm them here, and Laxus-sama wouldn't lie.
So why were Bickslow-san and Wren-sama huddled in a group of strange men, bruised and tied up and Bickslow-san gasping for air?
"If your going to add them to the usual shipment," grunted a man in a well-pressed, out-of-place business suit, "then we'd better get a move on. The wagon will be here soon and we can't have that blasted guild catching wind of this 'till we're long gone."
Pieces slammed together and for a moment Freed couldn't breathe. Magic Hunters. These men were Magic Hunters. They were here in Magnolia and they were going to steal Wren-sama and Bickslow-san away because of their eye magic. Sell them off to the highest bidder if they didn't just rip out their eyes first and sell those instead. It was impossible. Should have been impossible. Laxus-sama and Master Makarov had both assured Freed that Magic Hunters wouldn't dare enter a town that housed a guild as strong as Fairy Tail, that Fairy Tail had measures in place to prevent this kind of atrocity.
I need to get help. The thought flittered through Freed's mind as he pressed himself against the wall and covered his mouth with his hands to smother the sound of his terror-stricken gasps. I need to go tell the Master, he'll know the Rules for this, he'll know what to do-
Wren-sama lashed out as one of the men reached down to pick her up, her teeth sinking into his wrist only to be roughly shaken off and kicked by the angered man. Why isn't she using magic? Why isn't she just teleporting away? Freed's gaze settled on the handcuffs holding Wren-sama's hands behind her back and felt dread swoop deeper into his stomach as he pieced together the runes engraved on it, anti-magic handcuffs. Any skin contact locks down victim's magic in their core. Even eye magic won't work if someone's cuffed with that. They came prepared, this was planned what-do-I-do?
Freed wanted to run away, an inner voice that sounded distinctly like his mother insisted he should run away. Go get help, go get an adult, run to the nearest street and scream. But if he did that the men would run away and they might take Bickslow-san and Wren-sama with them and Freed might not get help in time to save them.
Freed fumbled for his Light Pen as the men tried to pick up Wren-sama again only for Bickslow-san to distract them by kicking and cursing. I'm just a kid. I need to get help. There's too many.
Another thought slid into being, but if I just distract them, grab Wren-sama and Bickslow-san and run- No. I can't.
I can't do this.
One of the men dragged Wren-sama up by her hair, heedless of her pained gasp and suddenly Freed was no longer in Magnolia. He was in the woods and his eye socket was throbbing because his eye was gone-gone-gone but his fear was overridden with awe as a boy with lightning and vengeance in his eyes took down men almost twice his size for two perfect strangers. They did it. They did it for you.
Wren-sama was tucked firmly under an arm, Bickslow-san being dragged up kicking and screaming from behind a gag they'd just forced into his mouth and Freed's remaining original eye burned.
I can't do this.
Laxus-sama flashed in his mind's eye, staring him down seriously as he outlined Fairy Tail's Golden Rule, "No matter what happens. No matter what you personally think of another member of the guild. No matter how much you fight with that member, no matter what you're doing at the time. If anyone hurts another member of Fairy Tail, you run the Mavis-forsaken snake and anyone with him down and make them pay."
I can't do this, pleaded the part of his mind that sounded so much like his mother.
I have to, snarled the part of him that was loyal to Laxus-sama, the part of him that was Fairy Tail, the part of him that was Raijinshū.
Freed pounded around the corner, "Wren-sama! Bickslow-san!" Heads turned, eyes widened in surprise, and Freed barely had a moment to think about just how stupid this was before the burn in his eye crystalized into words-intent-magic and his Light Pen glowed brilliantly as he screamed, "Close your eyes!"
The rune for light wrote into the air for all of a second before Freed squeezed his eyes shut and stabbed it with the pen. The rune destabilized and shattered, its effect surging widely out of control until it was not the simple illumination orb the rune was built for but was instead a blinding flare. Spots danced in front of Freed's eyes despite them being closed, but he didn't stop. His right eye slitted open, power spilling from his mind to his eye and then to his tongue and Light Pen as he lashed out at the men holding Wren-sama and Bickslow-san, "Disconnect!"
The arms holding Wren-sama and Bickslow-san went limp as the nerves were cut off. Freed's ears rung from the confused shouting and his adrenaline as he hauled Wren-sama and Bickslow-san upright and dragged them out of the circle of men, back into the network of alleys. Something whizzed past his cheek as they rounded the corner and Freed heard the black-haired man roar, "Get them! Don't let them get away!"
Freed had no idea where he was going or where he was leading Bickslow-san and Wren-sama as they were pursued by the already-recovering and very much enraged men. Every turn was made on impulse, every obstacle avoided by only the narrowest of margins. Freed had only planned how to get Wren-sama and Bickslow-san out of the mens' hands, if that far, and had no idea how to get away.
Wren-sama struggled to keep up, her leg was injured somehow. Bickslow-san shouted something at Freed, but he was still gagged and couldn't give directions short of body-checking Freed in the desired direction, which would only have knocked Freed over and gotten them all caught again. More and more projectiles whizzed past their heads, but Freed had no time to figure out what they were, only that they were dangerous and meant that their pursuers were close enough to see them despite the twisting nature of the streets.
The small projectiles that had been shooting past in increasing numbers all suddenly turned around and converged in the air. A solid wall of white formed where there had been a clear path moments before and Freed would have screamed in surprised fear as he bounced off of it had he had enough breath to do so.
Panic hammered an erratic beat in his ears as he twisted around only to find that the way they had come had already been blocked off by their pursuers. The black-haired man had his hand outstretched, fingers half-curled in a way that told Freed that he was the source of the sudden rustling wall. The man was saying something, but Freed couldn't hear him, all he could think of was that they were trapped and these were Magic Hunters and there was no Laxus-sama to save him now.
His right eye throbbed and he raised his Light Pen with shaking fingers only to have something small and white whip forward from the leader's fingers and knock it out of his grasp. Freed felt a sob rise in his throat, not again not again please-please-Laxus-sama- Bickslow-san was snarling from behind his gag, the older boy pressing Freed between his back and the wall as if to shield him. Two of the thugs pressed forward, but suddenly Wren-sama was standing in front of Bickslow-san. She was hand-cuffed and helpless and so, so small. Yet when she hissed, teeth bared like an animal about to rip out throats, the men faltered and Freed could feel a deadly pressure fill the alleyway despite the anti-magic cuffs.
"She can't do anything," snarled the leader, "just take them already! The boy will have to come too, can't have loose ends running around crying for help." The men exchanged glances and advanced again, ignoring the pressure filling the alleyway and Freed felt despair choke his throat the same way panic was clogging his ears. I should have run. I should have gotten help. Why did I think I could help? Someone, anyone, Laxus-sama, please!
Hands reached out, Bickslow lurched forward futilely and was shoved to the side and against the wall-
Then the men weren't there anymore. Freed stared, unable to process it for a moment. Unable to process the sounds of nose bones shattering under a fist, the crack of ribs giving way for the foot driving into them or the sickening thuds of a head being grabbed and rammed into the nearest wall twice before being tossed away. He stared at the back of someone who hadn't been there literally a second ago and tried to wrap his mind around it.
It didn't click until Mest-san's voice —low and furious and dangerous in a way Freed had never heard before— cut through the shocked silence, "Don't. Touch. Them." The words pried the panic loose from his ears and shook the despair from his throat and Freed felt himself burst into quiet tears of relief.
Backup had arrived.
Mest-san glanced over his shoulder at them, his mouth half-open to ask another question when his gaze caught on the white wall that trapped them. His eyes widened and his jerked his head back around. Mest-san's attention zeroed in on the black-haired leader and his voice went tight with confused betrayal, "Ivan-san? How- Why-"
The leader —Ivan-san?— ambled a few steps forward and bared his teeth in a way that wasn't really a smile, "Mest-kun. You shouldn't have come." Mest-san gave a choked noise and Ivan-san tilted his head to one side, "But to answer your question, I am taking care of some … detrimental distractions to my son's development. It's the duty of a father after all. The boy means well, but he just cannot be trusted to choose the correct allies and influences on his own yet, you understand? This is for the benefit of Laxus. Of all Fairy Tail really."
Mest-san looked as if someone had just stabbed him, "W-what? I- what?"
Ivan-san gave a flippant roll of his wrist, "I know it's hard for someone your age to understand. You're only fourteen after all. But sometimes for the betterment of the guild, certain people must be … removed from the ranks. I wanted to do it discreetly of course, no need to cause a fuss, but then that boy had to interfere, and now you are here. So, Mest-kun, I'm going to give you a choice. Stand aside and let my men continue their work, or don't, and become a detriment to Fairy Tail yourself same as them."
Freed felt fear crawl back when Mest-san didn't respond for several seconds. Was this Ivan-san right? Was this some kind of Guild Rule that Laxus-sama hadn't told him about? Were they about to be sold to Magic Hunters because they were a burden to Fairy Tail? A burden to Laxus-sama?
Ivan-san narrowed his eyes, the not-smile still firmly in place, "Well, Mest-kun? I don't have all-"
Freed registered the pop of teleportation magic only after Ivan-san was sent reeling back into the arms of his startled men while Mest-san stood in the mid-point of the alley, fist extended from the punch that had split Ivan-san's lip. Mest-san's voice had taken on the low, rough edge of danger again as he hissed out, "Traitor."
Ivan-san straightened up and spat out something white. He smiled again and Freed saw that there was a bloody gap to his leer that hadn't been there before, "Very well, Mest-kun. Your choice." White slips —paper?— swirled into being around Ivan-san's arms as he snarled, "Kill him. He's won't be worth enough on the market."
The four remaining men lunged alongside the two masses of paper and Mest-san turned into a blur of magic pops and afterimages as the fight began. One man threw a punch, fire licking his fist as he bellowed a war cry. Mest-san disappeared an instant before the fist made contact, reappearing directly behind his opponent and kicking him in the small of his back so that he staggered.
One of the masses of paper hurtled in on his location and Mest-san teleported again, reappearing above the man he had just kicked and land hard on his shoulders, driving him into the pavement. Mest-san backflipped as a sword appeared in the second man's hand and he slashed the air where Mest-san's back had just been.
Freed felt his breath catch in his throat as one of the paper … arms? Tentacles? Caught up to him in mid-air and sent Mest-san flying into the wall. Mest-san disappeared in a flurry of white and a pop of magic, reappearing behind the third man to slam his foot into his opponent's head with a flying spin-kick. It was different from watching Laxus-sama or Bickslow-san fight, Freed realized dully as the third man went down hard and the swordsman tried to stab Mest-san out of the air.
Back when Laxus-sama and his Raijinshū had rescued them, or when they were all training together, it was easy to forget Mest-san's fighting ability. The attention was always stolen by Laxus-sama's flaring lightning, Bickslow-san's whoops and the chitter of his laser-tikis, Cana's shouts and her many tarot cards. Even Wren-sama was eye-catching when she deigned to be visible at all, her shadows were terrifying that way.
Mest-san's magic wasn't flashy like the other Raijinshū, but it was fast and now that Freed was watching it, it was actually scary. Mest was there and gone in an instant, disappearing for a blink only to reappear anywhere. Above, to the side, even below. His fists and legs lashed out, holding his own against the four men —now reduced to the stubborn swordsman and the fourth man who had some kind of magic lasso— and Ivan-san, hitting an opponent only to disappear an instant before reprisal arrived. Only Ivan-san, with his veritable whirlwind of magic paper, had managed to land any hits on Mest-san, the thin edges cutting Mest-san's clothes and drawing red lines across his exposed skin that made Freed's stomach lurch.
The man with the lasso finally went down, taken out by a leg sweep and an axe-kick. Freed saw the sword flash through the air and Mest-san teleported away moments before it could cut his neck. Ivan-san was snarling now, both hands extended as he controlled his hurricanes of paper that chased Mest-san back and forth across the alley.
"Freed!" The hiss broke Freed out of his trance, jolting his attention back to Bickslow-san and Wren-sama. Bickslow-san was looking over his shoulder at Freed, blood trailing sluggishly down his temple as he shook his handcuffs pointedly, "You need to get these off! We have to help him out and get out of here!"
Freed blinked once, then nodded shakily as the stupidity of just standing there, watching while Mest-san fought by himself sunk in, "R-right." He dropped to his knees and searched frantically for the Light Pen that Ivan-san had knocked from his hands earlier. Where did it go? Where did it go? His eyes finally caught on his Light Pen, pinned beneath one of the men that Mest-san had knocked out when he first arrived. Freed crawled forward and tugged on the end of the Light Pen, trying to pry if from underneath the large man with the shattered nose.
An explosive hiss from Wren-sama and a sharp cry of pain from Mest-san jerked Freed's attention up from his trapped pen. Freed felt his stomach drop and panic begin to crawl up his throat again as he saw that somehow, within the short span of time Freed had stopped watching, Ivan-san had finally managed to catch Mest-san.
Oh no … oh no… Mest-san snarled as he struggled against the mass of paper holding him against the wall. He jolted forward briefly and Freed saw a look of confused panic cross Mest-san's face before he rasped, "How? I can't…"
Ivan-san was giving his not-smile again as he recalled some of his paper, peeling away the slips to reveal a pair of anti-magic handcuffs dangling from one of Mest-san's wrists, "I didn't get to be an S-Class mage for lack of foresight, boy. Just because the children were my target does not mean I would be so stupid as to not bring several spares." Freed looked back down at his Light Pen and began to pull even more frantically. He knew he had no chance against this Ivan-san —especially not if his claim was true and he was an S-Class mage— but he had to do something.
Mest-san gave a strangled noise as the paper holding him began to swirl tighter, so tight that Mest-san had trouble breathing. Wren-sama lurched forward and Freed shrieked in surprise as the paper wall that had been blocking their way dissolved and split into three parts that slammed Wren-sama, Bickslow-san, and him into the wall. "Ah, ah, ah," rumbled Ivan-san as he leered in their direction, "You have caused quite enough problems." His gaze shifted back to Mest-san, "Now, Mest-kun, hold still, this won't hurt … for very long." Ivan-san's fist curled, the razor-sharp paper slid up to Mest-san's neck-
Pressure unlike anything Freed had ever felt slammed down on the alley. It was all encompassing, a presence that pressed against his skin and curled around his magic core in a way that should have been stifling but wasn't. Ivan-san staggered with a startled gasp, his body hunching in on itself. Paper peeled away and fluttered to the floor and Freed grunted in surprise as he slid down the wall to the ground. Freed looked around in surprise, his mind scrambling to figure out where the pressure was coming from and why Ivan-san had suddenly let them go.
Then he saw the figures. There had to be at least a hundred of them. They crowded both ends of the alley and perched on the roofs and fire-escapes above his head. Several broke apart from the masses on the ground, hurrying to Freed's and his friends' sides and recognition clicked just as a voice —one that was power and pressure and thunder made manifest— rumbled through the air and rattled the cobblestones, "Ivan."
Freed looked up past Enno-san, past the carpet of discarded paper figures, past the brilliant golden flame of aura that surrounded the speaker and found himself staring into the glowing eyes of Master Makarov.
Fairy Tail had arrived.
And they were furious.
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Next chapter will cover exactly HOW Ivan got his hands on Wren and Bickslow as well as continue with Ivan's well-deserved comeuppance via fragged off Fairy Tail. On a side note, Ivan is a a very underused villain, has anyone else noticed? I mean, he's an ex-member of FAIRY TAIL. The last villain who was an ex-Fairy was HADES and he was hax on so many levels. Not that I think Ivan would ever be anything like Hades level of scary, but seriously, a villain who has been exposed to and lived with Fairy Tail Luck/Crazy for years (and is the son of Makarov and the progenitor of Laxus) should have been way more dangerous than he was in the Grand Magic Games. Just a thought.