Hope you guys enjoy my first Freed fic! Please leave a review if you do, they make me very happy!
"Laxus!" Freed shouted. He watched in horror as the dragon slayer fell forward, collapsing face down on the ground. Heart thumping wildly, Freed watched to see if Laxus would get back up, but the man lay silent and unmoving.
"No, Laxus!" Freed staggered forwards, tying his uniform's neckcloth around his mouth in a bid to keep the bane particles at bay, and slid down the slope of the crater to his fallen friend. Freed heaved him over onto his side. Laxus was already burning with fever, sweating dripping down his face as the bane sickness took hold.
But you can make sure they get home safe, his last words echoed in Freed's head. But how was he going to do that? Evergreen and Yajima he could carry himself, but Bickslow and Laxus were too heavy. Plus the crater's incline was steep, and Freed's own strength was waning by the minute.
Think, Freed! He told himself. You're the captain of the Thunder Legion, your teammates are counting on you.
An idea bubbled up through the ever-growing cloud of fog and pain. It was bizarre, but it might just work. Freed held his hand over Laxus' body.
"Dark Écriture: Weightless!" he commanded. He gasped in pain as the bane particles chewed away at his magic, but gritted his teeth and pushed through, pumping out power faster than they could devour it to activate the spell. Purple runes shimmered across Laxus' body, and he started floating a few centimetres off the ground.
"Yes!" Freed cried, and grabbed ahold of the dragon slayer's arm, pulling him along behind him like a human balloon as he scrambled back up to the crater's edge. He winced and muttered a quick apology whenever Laxus' head bounced off the ground. Panting from the effort, Freed shook off the stars at the edge of his vision, and cast his eyes around, desperately searching for some sort of vehicle. There! A wagon that had been parked across the street had escaped the worst of the blast.
Freed rushed towards Bickslow and cast the same spell, biting his tongue against the pain. Grabbing both his friends, he staggered to the wagon, and positioned them inside, releasing the spell as gently as he could manage, and they settled onto the floor. Freed doubled over coughing after the exertion. He tasted blood on his lips.
You can't give up now, he thought, making his way back to the final two. Freed hoisted Evergreen over one shoulder, and Yajima the other. Their faces were both contorted in agony, and Yajima was fading rapidly.
"Hold on, Mister Yajima," Freed rasped. "I'll get you to Fairy Tail, and Porlyusica will help you."
He placed them in the wagon alongside Laxus and Bickslow, and, propping himself against its side, moved to the driver's seat. To his dismay, the yoke was empty, and no animal was nearby to attach it to.
How did you not notice? Freed scolded himself. He looked around wildly for an alternative, but all other vehicles in the immediate area had been buried by rubble or destroyed in the Tartaros attack. Freed gritted his teeth, and pulled himself into the driver's seat.
Just one more spell, he begged. Let me have one more. Bracing himself, he raised a trembling hand.
"Dark Écriture: Horse!"
Doubling over in agony, Freed couldn't even keep his eyes open as his creation took shape. Four long hoofed limbs materialised from purple runes between the two poles, followed by a body, neck and head. Rune harness straps attached the creation to the wagon poles. If it had been a better day, Freed would have been proud of the effort. But all he could do was gasp out, "To Fairy Tail."
The rune horse tossed its head, and surged forwards. Freed was thrown back in his seat. He pulled aside the curtain to ensure no one had fallen out, but all of them were secure. Breath ragged, Freed pulled the neckcloth off his face, and wiped the blood off his mouth, before sinking further down in his seat. He could feel his magic pouring out of him, all while the bane particles tore him up from inside. It was all he could do to stay awake as they raced along the road, and several times sleep almost claimed him. He shouted warnings to other travellers, who had to jump aside as the rattled past, but Freed didn't dare slow down. Laxus and his friends were counting on him.
By the time Magnolia came into view, Freed was at his limit. The flow of magic slowed, and the rune horse started to disintegrate. People stared as the wagon clattered through the streets, but Freed barely noticed. The great guild hall blurred in and out of focus as the wagon drew to a halt outside the gates, and the rune horse vanished into the air. Freed hit the ground hard as he fell from his seat, but pushed himself up on shaking legs, staggering forward to the doors. His body was burning, it was like Natsu had lit a fire inside him.
"Help," he croaked, as he collapsed against the door, banging a fist weakly against it. "Help me."
He heard voices murmuring inside, footsteps approaching. The doors swung open and Freed fell with them, being caught on reflex by Fairy Tail's resident ice wizard. He usually disapproved of Gray's indecency, but by the gods was it a blessing now. The cold washed over his burning skin, damping the fire down. Freed grabbed Gray's shoulder, looked him in the eye.
"Help them," he gasped, and the world went black.
Hope you guys enjoyed! Please leave a review if you did, they make me very happy! They'll be a follow up chapter coming soon, so stay tuned.