First of all I want to give out a quick apology if this chapter just sucks! It was very hard to write and I feel like I could have done it better, but sadly I just wasn't able too. I feel like Laxus was out of character and the build up between Laxus and Freed was just shit! If you want to just not read this chapter I don't blame you. Sorry again! I honestly feel like this story is going down the drain.
The first game was about to begin. Freed and his team were already in their respective booth ready to cheer on Lyon.
At the thought of the ice mage Freed couldn't help but feel a little worried. He knew how strong Rufus from Sabretooth was, he knew just how strong Gray and Juvia were. Did Lyon really stand a chance? Did any of the guilds stand a chance against Fairy Tail and Sabertooth?
Freed was worried and for good reason too. The Games were a place that anything could happen, you could lose your life in the middle of a battle and no one would bat an eye. The entire show was something close to having all the competitors like gladiators. Freed was against it of course, but his guild pride made sure that if he were to go against his guild mistress' wishes, he would be more than just a little guilty.
"I'm sure that Lyon is going to kick butt!" Chelia cheered, her face adorned with a large smile that could have made flowers themselves grow.
The Rune mage felt his heart warm at the sight of her.
Yuka moved up to join the duo. "He better not mess this up, or the old hag is going to have a field day with him." He warned.
Freed rolled his eyes, having faith in Lyon and his magic.
"Alright then!" The announcer yelled, "it's now time for the Grand Magic Games' opening game, Hidden, to begin!"
The Lamia Scale team gave their undivided attention to what would be said about the game.
Freed took a one step forward to make sure that he had a good view of the arena.
After taking the time to voice who was competing, Freed knew that it was going to be a hard game to win.
But when the announcer called out who would be competing for Raven Tail, his blood boiled.
Nulpudding was smirking with pride. His guild up in their booth looking like they had already won the entire game.
Then he could feel it. There were eyes on him.
A shiver ran down his spine when he met Blacksnake's eyes.
They stayed like that for a moment, glaring at one another trying to gauge each other's strength of magic. He knew that he would have to face that man sometime during the Games. So to end their staring contest short, Freed let a growl form at the back of his throat and looked back down at Lyon who was waiting for his name to be called.
At that moment, Freed vowed to take revenge for Miss Wendy.
When this game is over, I'll go visit the girl.
More names were called out until, finally, Lyon's name was declared for the crowd.
"From Lamia Scale, Lyon Vastia!" The crowd cheered loudly, but they couldn't compare to the guild itself in the stands, cheering and chanting his name. They were rooting him on and wishing him only the sweetest of victories.
Freed felt a smile tug at his lip.
Like a good friend he said, "Now you win this for the guild!"
Chelia and Yuka mirrored Freed's attitude and began cheering themselves.
When Freed heard Gray and Juvia be called he couldn't help but let the smile widen.
Good luck, both of you!
He had to fight back the urge to cheer both of them on with all his might. But it was alright, Fairy Tail was doing a good job of that from the stands.
"All eight teams have chosen their competitors!" The announcer went back to saying, "now for the rules of the opening game, Hidden…!"
Jura stood at attention close to the railing of the booth. He gave every contender a look over. Trying to foretell the outcome of the game.
A familiar pumpkin head man began to walk up to the mages competing.
Freed never liked that strange pumpkin, nevertheless, he made sure that he paid close attention to whatever the pumpkin had to say.
"That Raven Tail member is giving me a bad feeling." Yuka said.
Taking a moment to take his eyes off Lyon, Freed looked down at the smaller man in understanding.
"It would be a good idea to make sure that we keep an eye on all of them." Freed advised.
Yuka nodded in understanding letting Chelia push past him and tug at Freed's sleeve.
"Freed, you said that they were a dark guild. What did you mean?" She asked softly.
Taking a moment to collect his thoughts Freed moved to place a reassuring hand on Chelia's shoulder.
"The last time that I heard of them they were a dark guild. It just seems that they were able to manipulate the system to their favor. That means nothing however, because we are going to win." He said with certainty.
Chelia smiled once again, eyes filled with excitement.
A moment after Freed had spoken, the pumpkin declared the field open.
A city began to materialize from the ground up blocking any view of the competitors.
Like in past years, the Games were always decorated to perfection.
Freed moved away from the God Slayer to admire the magic behind the set up.
"They seem to never waste on extravagance." He said.
His teammates agreed with nods of their heads.
The game itself was something that had Freed on edge.
Being told that there were going to be look-alikes was enough to make his head spin. The thought of so many Lyons in one place was a rather strange thought to digest.
Laxus rolled his neck to try and rid himself of all the stress he was feeling.
Having Raven Tale in the Games was not something that he was prepared for. The thought was so unsettling that he didn't even want to give the team a glance. He was going to ignore them and focus on more important things.
"If they are going to be surrounded by copies of other players, then Juvia is screwed." Laxus stated with certainty.
Mira gave him confused look.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Just watch…" Was all he offered.
Gajeel understood what he was referring to rather quickly. It seemed being the man that knew the water mage the best was an advantage.
As soon as the game started, Laxus and the others could see how being surrounded by so many Grays was affecting Juvia.
Mira didn't even try to hide her slight grimace. "Now I see what you are saying, Laxus."
When those words were spoken a large screen appeared in the air showing their teammate throwing herself at one of the many Gray copies.
She was reduced a point.
Mira laughed softly. Laxus looked stunned up at the screen. Gajeel clearly voiced his annoyance.
"That idiot…" He growled.
Feeling bad for her friend, Mira tried to ease the man with a bit of humor. "Juvia might be at a disadvantage here!" She said resting her cheek on her hand.
Laxus lowered his head and said, "I would've entered if I'd known it'd be like this…"
Jellal stood by their side, silent.
For a moment that was all Fairy Tail Team B did. They stood in their respected booth and watched all the mages run around the town looking for one another.
Laxus looked away from Juvia's screen to watch Gray run down an alley. Behind him the mage of Raven Tale appeared.
"Shit, Raven Tale found him!" He said.
Moments later Gray was attacking. Only to be deceived, and loose a point to Nulpudding.
Sadly, that was only the start of the attacks. Poor Gray kept getting hit by Nulpudding, the dark mage going after no one else.
Gajeel took a threatening step forward with his fist in the air. "What the hell is going on?! The piece of rock is just going after Gray!"
Laxus could only stand and watch as his father's dog went after his guild mate.
As they continued to watch Gray struggle, the Ice Mage came face to face with his old peer.
Lyon was staring at Gray with raised brows, a smug smile on his lips.
Gajeel was about to give up right then and there. "You got to be kidding me! Give us a break!" He snarled up at the screens.
Laxus kept his eyes on Lyon. His rage began to simmer under his skin.
"Gray better kick his ass…" Laxus growled menacingly.
Mira was stunned at the tone of her teammates voice. For a short moment she was confused as to why he would be so hostile towards the man. Then it hit her.
It must have been because of Freed.
She thought back to her encounter with the Rune Mage. Maybe if she told Laxus about it then it would calm him down enough that he wouldn't want to run after the ice mage.
"I talked to Freed before this all started." She said in a delicate voice turning to face the Lightning Dragon.
That was enough to stun all three men into silence.
Laxus was the first to react. "You did? What did he say? Is he alright? When will he come back?" His questions came out with a burst of air leaving his lungs empty. He looked down at the bar maid with an almost crazed look in his eyes. His mind was screaming at him to just leave his team where they were and rush to Freed's side. Something in him that was a pure animalistic need was begging him to just grab Freed and press the man against him.
Mira took a step back to look over her shoulder. Sadly, she couldn't see Freed through the city that was in the center of the arena.
"He's alright. He's changed a lot in the last seven years, though. I almost couldn't recognize him." She said.
Gajeel looked between Laxus and Mira. "Are you really dead set on getting him back?"
Laxus was brought back to the real world by that simple question. Without a shadow of uncertainty, he said with a firm strong voice, "I will do whatever it takes to get Freed back. He isn't meant to be with anyone else but us."
For Gajeel it was hard not to hear the underlining me in that statement. Just to satisfy his curiosity, Gajeel pushed the subject further. "Why does it matter so much? What is he to you?"
Mira gasped at the weight of the question. She stared at Laxus intently for his reaction.
Laxus looked taken back, his eyes were wide and his body turning stiff.
"Gajeel, that's none of your business." Laxus snapped back after he was able to regain his composure.
Why can't you answer him? What the hell are you trying to prove here? His mind was screaming.
The Iron Dragon took Laxus' tone as an invitation to start a fight or an argument. Just like in the past with Gray and Natsu, Gajeel stood to his full high, he fists magically encasing themselves in iron. "I want to know if you're going to be a liability just like Juvia is with her obsession with Ice Princess over there." He growled, "And if you are, we can just go ahead and replace the pair of ya'!"
With those words said Laxus was taken back.
From the urge to protect his pride, he took a readying step forward. "Freed is my friend…" He said.
No, he's not! He hasn't been your friend for a long time. His subconscious added.
Suddenly the entire space that he was in was becoming smaller. The air in Laxus' lungs not enough to keep little black dots from appearing in his line of sight, he felt the world start to tilt on its axis.
Mavis, he felt like he was going to be sick.
He turned on his heel away from his teammates, desperately searching for a way to get out of there. Then he caught site of the small door heading out to the coliseum's many halls. He took large hurried steps, throwing it open when he had his hands around the handle.
Figure out what Freed is to you. Then all this can be for something more than "he's my friend."
Behind him he could hear someone calling out his name. He didn't give a shit, he just needed to get out of there and see Freed.
The moment Rufus let loose, Freed knew that 'Hidden' was over and won.
However, that didn't prepare him from Lyon's screams. Something painful clenched in his chest. In his mind, he promised to make sure that Lamia Scale would get even with Sabertooth for that.
Then, out of nowhere came solid evidence that Raven Tail was out for the Fairies.
"He ignored a defenseless opponent to get to Gray alone!" He had said. In that time no one in his team had said a word, too shocked at his outburst to actually say anything. The last few remaining moments of the game were easily predicted. Lamia Scale came in third and both Fairy Tail Teams in last.
When the games were over Freed took a step back from the railing.
The game is over, now it's time to go visit Wendy. He told himself.
Freed pushed past his fellow mages towards the small door at the end of room.
Jura looked at the man confused at his actions. "May we ask where you are going?" He said quietly.
With no hesitation, Freed turned around to face his friend. "After these games I would very much like to visit an old friend of mine. Sadly, she is not in the best condition and I'm hoping to see what I can do." He said with a smile on his face. A smile so rare that it had Yuka looking taken back.
Chelia kept to herself. Her over active imagination running wild, all her thoughts going back to one theory.
He's not going to stay with us much longer.
Seeing that there were going to be no more questions directed at him, Freed went on his way.
There was something off with the way he was feeling though. A feeling of barely there excitement was bubbling away in his chest. It had been a long time since he felt that. Every time that he had thought back to his old guild there was always dark emotions fogging his memories of the past. However, ever since he had talked to Mira those emotions had disappeared. Not completely, but they were gone for the most part.
Right now all he really wanted to do was make sure that Wendy was alright. Who knew what Raven Tail had done to her.
He was lucky enough to not have to face a large amount of people. Seeing as there was still going to be the battle portion that was going to be held very shortly. Freed had a feeling that the fight itself was not going to be anything extravagant.
Like other years, he was certain that it would be the weaker mages pinned against one another.
Oh, how wrong he was…
It didn't take him long to find the medical rooms in the arena. He walked passed a few open doors sporting empty rooms. At the very end of the stone hallway Freed found only one shut door. He took a deep breath hoping that Wendy had not been seriously hurt. Just thinking that she had to go through any sort of pain made Freed want to tear whoever was the cause of it apart.
He reached for the door, slowly pushing it open. The sound of the creaking hinges was the only indication he was forced to give.
"Mr. Natsu?" A soft voice asked.
Freed smiled at the sound. Wendy and the Salamander did have a very close sibling bond.
He walked the rest of the way inside of the room with a soft smile on his face. There was gasp heard throughout the room that didn't fail to leave him a bit uneasy.
"Mr. Freed! You're back!" Wendy smiled up at the man.
The sight of the girl put any misconceptions Freed may have had about the check up behind. She reminded the Rune Mage so much of Chelia, they would be the best of friends if given the chance.
He moved forward towards the side of the bed where Charla slept and Wendy was sat up.
"It's good to see you Miss Wendy, after so many years." He said with a rare smile on his face.
Those words had Wendy staring at Freed with wide slightly frightful eyes.
"It still feels weird when people say that. Cause it really does feel like just yesterday that I was on that ship to the island." She whispered solemnly.
At the tone of the younger girl's voice Freed moved to sit down on a vacant chair.
"Now, there is no need to dwell on the past. All that matters is that you and the others are back." He said reaching out to take her small hand in his as an act of reassurance.
If only Freed would take his own advice.
Wendy looked up at Freed for a moment. It was like she was seeing him for the first time. She was taken back by how much the man had changed. His hair was no longer long strands of emerald, but short and soft looking. His face had aged well through the seven years, but it was clear that he had suffered. Wendy's heart ached for him. She and the others had missed so much in the last seven years. It had been like waking up in a new world.
"Mr. Freed, you've changed a lot…" She whispered.
Freed laughed softly at her observation. It seemed that anyone that he was going to meet from Fairy Tail was bound to say the same thing.
"I have change a lot these past few years."
The moment that Laxus was out of ear shot of his teammates he let out a frustrated growl.
What the hell was he going to do if he were to have to fight against Freed? Would he throw the game away for him? Shit! He would! He'd do it if it meant that they would finally have a chance to talk to one another.
He was going to have to come to terms with his feelings quickly if he wanted to make any sort of progress.
However, he couldn't do that without seeing Freed first. He needed that reassurance that the racing of his heart was caused by Freed himself, and not some fear of rejection. When given the chance to talk to the Rune Mage, Laxus would know what to feel. He would know how to act.
Until that moment came however, he would have to be left with his confused heart wandering through the halls of the coliseum.
With his head bowed he let a frown formed on his face. There was something off with the Games. After what Jellal had said about all the strange magic that went on during the time of the Games it put Laxus and the rest of Fairy Tail on edge. With Raven Tail in the mix it was not helping at all. Having to be so close to his father was making Laxus' skin crawl. He didn't even want to be anywhere near that man, but now he was forced to share an arena with him.
All Laxus truly cared for was that Freed stayed safe and away from Raven Tail.
Is there ever a time where you don't think about him? He asked himself.
That thought made him smile the slightest bit. Even before the whole seven-year disappearance, Laxus was always thinking about Freed and his teammates. He had always wanted to make sure that they were safe and out of harm's way. As Laxus' thoughts delved deeper into that part of his mind he couldn't help but take note that long before the entire battle of Fairy Tail, he had always been protective of Freed. More so than the others.
Had he always possessed these feelings for Freed? Had he really been that blind to his emotions?
That would explain a lot of things if it happened to be true.
Laxus shook his head of the idea, not wanting to go down the dark path it led.
Then suddenly he heard footsteps coming towards him. He really hoped that it was some Royal Knight doing his rounds and not some crazed fan that would beg him for his signature.
The closer the footsteps got, the more Laxus wanted to turn around and go back the way he came. But he wasn't ready to go back to his team just yet.
When the person turned the corner everything around him stopped. His breathing came to a halt and for a split second there was nothing else in the world other than the very person who was walking up the hall. There was no one to stop him from taking a step forward or threaten him for trying to have some form of contact.
The second he whispered out the man in question's name, he knew that their meeting was going to set off a chain of reactions.
"Freed?" He whispered almost reverently.
In that moment Laxus knew that it wasn't some fear that had his heart racing. It was the fact that Freed was with another that wasn't him. His heart ached because Freed wasn't by his side like he should be. Those were not emotions that one held for a friend, or even a brother. Those were the sentiments that one would feel when faced with the person they held dearest.
For Laxus, it was Freed.
The Rune Mage was stunned into silence. The sound of his name being said by such a familiar and missed voice scent his head into a whirlwind of emotions. On one hand he was desperate to lunge at the Dragon Slayer. Wrap his arms around his neck and just feel him press against him. Freed wanted to know desperately that Laxus was real, not just some figment of his imagination.
However, he wasn't ready.
He wasn't prepared for what Laxus would trigger. All those painful nights that he had to face by himself because the thought of not having Laxus anymore were coming back to haunt him. He swore he could still feel the burn of his pain runes on his skin from all those years ago.
"You've changed so much, Freed." Laxus spoke again.
The sound of his voice was what snapped Freed out of his dark ravine.
Laxus took a large step forward with his hand out stretched. The same desperation that his Captain was feeling was coursing through his own veins. He just needed to touch the other man to make sure that he was actually there.
He could feel the feeling of belonging in him start to grow in his chest again. That was the feeling that Laxus was searching for.
But there was something wrong with the entire thing. Freed wasn't reacting the way he hoped. There was no tearful reunion, no embracing. All Laxus could see was the fear in Freed's eyes, as if he was looking at some sort of demon.
"Freed, it's me!" He said desperately. This wasn't the man he knew from seven years ago. There was no light in his dark blue eyes, eyes that used to show his emotions so well. There no light of loyalty and affection. He wasn't looking at Freed from Fairy Tail. He was looking at Freed from Lamia Scale.
And he was a totally different man.
Lyon was right, seven years is a long time. I don't even recognize him. He said to himself.
Then finally, Freed spoke.
"I wasn't ready…" He whimpered, "I wasn't ready to face you and the others." His eyes were wide.
Laxus could see the way his knees were trembling, a clear sign that he was ready to collapse. Laxus took another step forward, but Freed just took one back.
"Freed, listen!" Laxus ordered, his voice far sterner than he wanted it. "Come back to me!"
With those words it seemed to set something off within Freed's mind. For a moment it seemed that he was clearly thinking over Laxus' proposal. The sway of his body towards Laxus was irrefutable. There was something purely animalistic in the way both men craved for one another.
Then Freed snapped out of it. His eyes lost any and all emotion. He body stiffened leaving the air to fill with tension.
All Freed said was, "I can't, and I won't. I won't put myself through that again." He swore.
Laxus was taken back by the cold tone he received. It was strange how the pain he felt at that moment was the greatest he had ever felt. Nothing could ever compare to his heart feeling as if it was on the edge of shattering.
Freed don't say that! Don't tell me that you chose him over me! Him being Lyon.
That Ice Mage was always in the way. He was the reason why this was even happening in the first place. He was going to have to do something about that.
Before there could be any other words said, a loud crashing sound was heard.
Laxus turned around to see what was the cause of it only to see Natsu run full speed past them. Something was terribly wrong if it had Natsu in such a hurry. Laxus shook his head from all the confusion running after the fellow dragon slayer for a few feet. Still wanting to stay close to Freed.
"What the hell's gotten into you, Salamander?!" He called out.
Natsu turned back stunned to hear Laxus' voice, but that shocked expression only lasted for a moment.
"That flame chick from Raven Tail was put up against Lucy! She's using one of our friends as bait to win!" He called out before he turned a corner to reach the stands of the colosseum.
Laxus couldn't quite believe his ears. Everything was happening just a bit too sudden for his liking.
To try and find some sort of solace he turned to face Freed again, only to find that he had vanished.
