Now:

There are Dragons in the sky above them, a roar that seems to shake the very air as Laxus has a fleeting glimpse of wings and massive forms hurtling past. And there's lightning sparking around his fingertips again. The magic that had been ebbing away, returning in a flood that threatens to take his breath away. However, instead of feeling relieved, all Laxus feels is dread as a snarl, more threatening than the bellow of the Dragons in the air above them rings out as he straightened and closed his fingers on the lightning.

"Freed…" Lifting his head, he sees that Freed is on his feet once more and their eyes meet and lock across the space of the crater that has cracked open the ground at their feet. Only it's not Freed that's looking back though, the spark of humanity, the flicker of the man he loved that he had convinced himself was there earlier nowhere to be seen in the dark eyes, and bared teeth, and Laxus feels his heart sink anew at the sight.

Freed…

What did they do to you? He wants to ask, but the words won't come, because beneath it is another question that he doesn't want to ask, because he knows that he's not ready to hear the answer. What did we do to you? Because he has no idea how much of this is because of what has happened to Freed during his time with marks of their mercies written across patterned skin and in the mark that has no place on his partner's shoulder, and how much it has to do with what Freed had sacrificed for them.

For him.

The price paid for them to be standing here, alive and fighting, their magic worn thin but present.

Then:

There was blood in his mouth, and whatever relief Freed had felt at the sight of lightning ripping through the air to strike their assailant melted away as he watched Laxus stiffen in alarm as the Dragon-slayer got a good luck at their attacker. Laxus… In all the years he'd known the other man, and everything that they had faced, he had never seen that expression on his partner's face, not just fear – because while Laxus hid that well, he had caught glimpses of it before. This ran deeper, a terror that had gripped him, colouring the Dragon-slayer's next words with disbelieving horror. "He's not human."

The words were not even aimed at him and yet Freed couldn't help but flinch a little, and curl in on himself, as though they were barbs that had struck home. Perhaps, it was because they were words he'd heard more times than he cared to count, spat at him in fear and anger and hatred, although never by Laxus or the rest of the Raijinshuu, but enough that they had burned themselves onto his memory. Or, maybe it was because of the Demon stirring just beneath his skin, awake and restless, as it had been since the moment their assailant had walked into Yajima's restaurant. At the time, it had recoiled, snarling and hissing, almost territorial in its reaction and it had been the reason why Freed had been half expecting that first attack. Then as the man -the Demon, his mind and heart told him now in the wake of Laxus' words – had spoken, about Tartaros, about hell and about humans as though they were something less, he had realised that beneath it all the Demon was excited.

That it felt a kinship to this person.

That it wanted to fight, but not against him, but against them.

Against Freed.

Against Bickslow and Evergreen who were still caught in the relief of Laxus' timely arrival.

Against Laxus who had buried his fear, focusing on the fight at hand, lightning lashing against their attacker, and Freed's hand curled into a fist against his will, and he felt the press of claws against his palm as his Demon fought to free itself from his tight control.

I won't let you,

He had to look away from the fight, gritting his teeth as rather than subsiding as it usually would when he forced his will against it, the Demon lashed out against him, trying to claw its way to freedom. Why? Was it the mention of demon gates? What was this person? What was he to Freed's Demon? He didn't like not knowing, having spent a lifetime trying to learn as much about the unwanted complication to his magic as he could so that he could bend it to his control, his rules, and now that was threatening to crumble, and he didn't understand why. As he looked down, darkness spread across his skin, claw marks appearing and disappearing, leaving a deep, throbbing ache in their wake, but no other proof of their existence. He locked his limbs in place refusing to let it take control, and they battled back and forth in a way that they hadn't done for years, the sounds of Laxus' battle fading into the background.

It felt like a lifetime before the Demon subsided. Yet it could have only been a moment at most because the dust was still settling from where Laxus had crushed his opponent into the ground in the middle of the crater that now marked where the restaurant had once been. Freed hesitated before lifting his head, because it was not a retreat, and he feared that if his attention wavered for a moment, the Demon would surge free once more, feeling it snarl deep in his chest as he took in the sight of his partner towering over the other Demon. Laxus, he thought, closing his eyes in relief, startled to realise that at least a part of him had doubted that the Dragon-slayer would come out on top this time, and trying to ignore the fury that wasn't his that lashed at the tail of that thought.

"Yajima, what should we do with them?" He realised that Laxus was asking, and pushed himself up, startled to realise that the others were already upright, having recovered somewhat from the earlier attacks. However, the same couldn't be said of the restaurant.

He caught Bickslow studying him for a moment with no sign of his usual grin to be seen, and for half a moment it seemed as there was something far too knowing in his friend's gaze, as though the Skeith mage knew about the battle he had just waged in his body. Perhaps he was, he knew that Bickslow had been witness to that power struggle more than once, able to see more than the others in that regard, although Evergreen and Laxus were just as aware of that side of his magic. Normally, that didn't bother him too much, because it was safer for them to know, to be alert in case his control slipped, and he needed them to rein him in, but maybe it was that 'he's not human' or the strange kinship his Demon had with the one in front of them, but today he found himself looking away. Pretending to dust himself off and surreptitiously checking that the claw marks had faded from his arms, as he half-listened to the conversation around him, relieved when he sensed Bickslow's attention moving away from him.

"The council isn't functioning right now…" Yajima replied, grim and focused for a moment before his voice rose as he demanded. "How dare he trash my restaurant?"

"The main restaurant, yeah, but you've got a lot of other branches, right?" Bickslow asked with a shrug, and Freed felt himself relaxing a little at the conversation and the confirmation that Bickslow was no longer watching him. They were safe, Laxus had won. So why was he still uneasy? As though he was waiting for something else to happen. He frowned, rubbing at his arms as he turned to look at Laxus and his prisoner, expression softening a little as Laxus met his gaze, although the uneasiness remained.

"We should bring him back to Fairy Tail for an interrogation," he said, finding that he was having to force the words out, a reluctance that didn't belong to him hampering the words. It was the sensible thing to do, and probably the only way they were going to get answers, and yet he recoiled at the thought of keeping him nearby, the Demon still but watchful in his chest. It wanted him close, he could feel it, and that was all the more reason for him to want him as far away as possible.

"Oh, I kind of like the sound of that," Evergreen said with a smirk that promised trouble, stopping him from giving in to the temptation to change his mind, and he looked towards her, drawing strength from her confidence as he forced himself to continue. To be practical, rather than give in to the growing desire to put as much distance between himself and this Demon as possible.

"They're not only after current Council members but past members as well. I'm curious about their motive," he continued, relieved that his voice was even, not letting his uncertainly bleed through. This was what he was good at, thinking things through, being logical and yet right then he wanted to be anything but rational. He waited, almost hoping for disagreement, even though he knew what he was saying made sense, and Bickslow agreed, and then Evergreen, before they dissolved into bickering with Yajima and Freed hated that it all felt distant, like he was looking in on a different world. What is going on? He thought pressing a hand to his chest, feeling the demon stir once more, just before another voice rang out, and all the hairs on his arms stood on end and not through fear or alarm, but anticipation.

An excitement that wasn't his.

"Fairy Tail, eh?" Their attention snapped back to the downed Demon and Freed gritted his teeth, fighting his own Demon once more as it tried to surge free. "A human with that kind of magic power wasn't part of the plan." Human… there was that distinction again, from the other side this time, and Freed was horrified to feel his Demon practically purr in agreement, delighted at the disdain with which the man had said 'human', and his hands curled into fists once more. I'm human, he reminded it sharply. However, the words that had been something of a protective charm ever since he had first learned how to restrain the Demon, felt weak even in the privacy of his own mind, but there's a quiver to the thought now, a hesitation and this time he's not sure whether it's because of him or the Demon. "Unforeseen damage…Do I have to die once?"

Die…?

"Die? What the hell are you talking about?" Laxus demanded, and to Freed, it felt as though the air around them had turned still and cold with the promise of something that he didn't understand. He was already moving, some instinct prompting him forward when the Demon shifted, fixating his partner with a baleful look.

"I mean, you said you were too tough for me, human…" Light flared, blinding them all for a moment and Freed felt it, the change in the air, a shift that was echoed in his chest as the Demon howled and he staggered to a halt, nearly stumbling under the force of it. Breath catching in his chest, as the light fading to reveal that the Demon was gone, dark, purplish tendrils of mist rising across the crater in his place.

"Self-Destruction?!"

"What?!"

"What's that black smoke?" Freed demanded, watching as it rapidly spread out around them, as though it was hungrily devouring the air itself.

"It keeps spreading!"

"People can't defeat a disaster." A voice echoed from the depths of the growing mist, and something about the words resonated with Freed, and he froze, eyes wide, feeling as though he was reaching for a memory that was just out of reach. People can't defeat a disaster… Why did his heart ache at those words, not fear, but grief… the kind that could rip a person apart from the inside out, and yet he was sure he had never heard that phrase before, and with difficulty he wrenched his attention back to the present, his throat burning as the mist coiled closer. Pressing against him with what felt like a purpose, even as he watched it swirl around the others like a natural mist, sending shivers down his back. "These are magic barrier particles. They contaminate and destroy Ethernano in the air."

"Anti-Ethernano?" Freed whispered, and the Demon in his chest stilled for a moment, ceasing its attempts to escape for a moment as horrified understanding washed over him, just as it snarled its triumph beneath his skin where only he could hear it.

"They cause magic deficiency disease and magic disability disorder." The others were doubling over, coughing and gasping, as they frantically covered their mouths and nose, in a desperate attempt to stave it off and Freed mimicked them without thinking. "To wizards, both diseases are fatal. My only weakness is that to reconstitute my own body, I have to return to headquarters. Let's meet in hell, dead ones."

Dead ones…

"Don't breathe in the mist," Freed barked to the others, knowing that the warning was too late, that just as it burned his throat and nose, it was already doing the same to the others. Ice flooding his veins, as he felt the Demon surging forward, pushing against already weakening defences. No, he snarled back, even as his mind raced, realising that he was moving easier than the others even as he felt the effects taking hold. It attacks magic, but… His hand falling away from his mouth, to hang helplessly at his side.

"At this rate, everyone will…" Evergreen whispered.

"The whole town will be contaminated!"

"Everyone escape! Somewhere there's no mist!" Yajima called, moving to obey his own words and Freed knew even before the older man's legs gave out and sent him to the ground that it was too late. The Demon knew it too, triumphant in his chest, just waiting now. Waiting for him to follow, for the magic that he used to hold it at bay to fail so it could be free.

"Yajima-san!" Evergreen was the next to fall, trying to reach Yajima and Bickslow was next, clutching at his throat as his knees gave way he collapsed to the ground.

"Wake up! Ever! Bickslow!" Freed found his voice, even as he knew that it wouldn't work, that his voice wasn't enough to reach them. Coughing as his throat burned and staggering as he felt the Demon clawing at the inside of his chest, chipping away at his wavering focus, and he knew it wouldn't be long before he was free.

"I won't let anyone die! No one's dying here!"

Laxus. Laxus was still upright, although clearly affected too and Freed forgot the Demon for a second as he realised his partner was making no effort to cover his mouth. "Laxus! Keep your mouth shut!" His fingers were already moving, dredging up as much of his waning magic as he could, because he knew that look in Laxus' eyes. It was the same one when he had agreed to go back for Makarov on Tenroujima, the same expression that appeared whenever he or the others were in danger, a focus, a willingness to do anything to keep them safe. While it usually warmed him to see it, right then it felt like he had been doused in ice. "Laxus!" It was hard to focus, the Demon intensifying its efforts, his breath burning and catching in his throat, and his stubborn, desperate partner was opening his mouth, deliberately drawing the deadly, swirling mist to himself. "No…Stop!" He was pleading even as he worked, runes glowing dimly in the air in front of him as he stepped forward, managed a step and fell to one knee, Laxus' attention snapping to him and for a moment there was just the two of them. An aching, terrible knowing flooding Freed's chest as the Dragon-slayer smiled at him.

"Get everyone back home…that's your job."

That is my job.

A calm settled over Freed then, and somehow, he found his way back to his feet. Wavering and unsteady on legs that he doubts will support him for long, and he wasn't entirely convinced that the darkness across his vision was just the mist filling the area around them. He doesn't have long, but then he doesn't need much time, the runes he needs at his fingertips, his purpose a shield and a sword against the encroaching darkness, even as he hears Laxus choking out his name. He wished that he'd had his sword with him, but there was no time to worry about that now, as his fingers moved, dancing in the air with frantic energy.

Get them home. Stop this. Protect them.

The Demon was fighting him, trying to distract him, a constant, haunting howl in the back of his mind that was getting louder and louder. It might as well be a whisper against his own mantra because he knows his job, knows what has to be done.

Knows what it will cost him.

You'll be free soon enough, Freed told it when the Demon howled against his defiance, feeling it subside momentarily in its surprise and he seized those precious seconds, throwing everything he had into the runes he'd just written. The magic that has always felt as natural as breathing tearing itself from him and this isn't the slow ebb and loss of magic that he had been feeling. Or even the burn of the particles against his throat and lungs, instead it is a wildfire that roars through his veins.

Burning.

Consuming.

Freed catches a fleeting glimpse of the barrier he's erected. It's already flickering, it's foundations as wracked by weakness as he feels, as it spreads out, a glimmer of purple that slices through mist and air, taking everything from him as it grows. He sees it settle around them, containing the mist before it can go beyond the confines of the crater their fight has left behind, sees another wall arch off, surrounding the forms of his friends and Yajima on the floor, and then he's falling to his knees. He thinks that he might be screaming because he's tied to the barrier, anchoring its existence, and fuelling it as it is immediately attacked by the barrier particles. But there's a roaring in his ears that might be the Demon or might be his heart, battling to keep up with the strain of his magic. He's burning and cold all at once, and there's darkness, inside and out that's threatening to pull him under and drag him away to somewhere he won't come back from, and it's more tempting than he wants to admit to think about yielding, to let himself flow away with the tide. He doesn't, because the mist is still swirling around the area, still a threat to his friends. To Laxus who is calling his name in a tone that he has never heard from the Dragon-slayer before, that cuts through the roaring noise.

"Freed!"

"Laxus…" He tastes blood again as he breathes the Dragon-slayer's name, struggling to open eyes that he didn't remember closing, and he catches a brief glimpse of blue eyes before he's doubling over with a cry. Coughing and choking, because the mist is all around him now, centred on him, attacking the only magic left available to it, and he can't breathe. Laxus… He can hear the Dragon-slayer shouting and feels a flare of agony as lightning strikes the barrier now firmly in place between them. Arching back as he feels the attack radiate through every inch of his body, again and again, as Laxus fights to get free, and Freed needs to tell him to stop. To beg him to stop.

But he can't speak, can't breathe, can't think and there's a splintering somewhere deep inside him.

The sensation disappears, as though Laxus has realised what was happening. However, there's no time for relief because that splintering has broken something deep inside him, and Freed feels more than hears the triumphant roar in his chest as his eyes flutter shut in defeat. The wildfire of his magic being pulled from him, flares brighter for a moment, hungry and devouring, and then it's gone, extinguished as though someone had blanketed it with cold earth, leaving an empty, aching hollow where his magic should be. He has no time to mourn its loss because something else is slipping into that space, filling it to the brim with icy darkness that steals his breath in a completely different way as something stirs, wakes and consumes him.

Something less than human.

Freed is aware of his eyes opening, even though he didn't ask them to, and his vision is strange. Sharper, clearer, to the point where he feels as though he can see ever mote of dust, each particle in the mist that still swirls in the place. It feels different too, no longer dark and menacing, but softer and soothing. He breathes deeply, and now it doesn't burn, but soothes, chasing away the last traces of something unwelcome, unwanted, and it takes him a moment to realise the Demon is relishing the loss of his magic. The banishment of the cage that has kept it bound for so long, that it is enjoying the pang of loss he feels at the reminder of the hollow that is still there, albeit mostly filled with the Demon's presence.

"FREED!" His head snaps up at the panicked shout. The Demon snarling and Freed crying out a wordless, soundless warning in his own mind, as he looks at Laxus, the Dragon-slayer slamming his fists against the barrier separating them, lightning sparking and then fading. His magic fading – drained by the particles that Freed hadn't been able to completely shield him from, and now tied into the barriers, the runes having switched anchors the moment Freed's magic had faded to nothing.

Please…

He can pinpoint the exact moment Laxus realises that it's not him he's facing because there's a flicker in his eyes, not quite the fear his partner had shown in the face of the other Demon but close. Softened, by the worry that creases the corner of his eyes. "Freed…" Soft, pleading, a tone that Freed had heard far too many times over the years when Laxus had needed to talk him back from the dark precipice of losing control. It's not always enough, and today even as his heart twists at the voice, he knows that it's not enough, even before the growl rumbles in his chest, and he feels the air change. The Demon recognises the tone too, and the intention behind it, and Freed waits, not breathing and hoping as it stares at Laxus, and the Dragon-slayer stares back, unfazed by the growl or the anger that Freed can feel twisting his expression into something dark and ugly. Please. Everything hinges on this, because the barriers are flickering, because as strong as Laxus is he's also teetering on the brink, and if they fail… "Freed, you can fight this." He wants to sob at the sheer certainty in those words, the faith that he doesn't deserve, but that's beyond him, and he's a passenger in his own body as the Demon snarls a curse at the implied threat to its freedom, and then he's lunging forward.

Freed's magic is gone, but the Demon has it's own power and purplish-black light blazes as it collides with the barrier, intent of breaking through. Utterly focused on destroying the Dragon-slayer who has stood his ground, defiant and pleading all at once as he braces himself for the attack. The barrier flares in answer to the attack, flickers and just as it seems as though it will collapse another line of runes flares to life, and Freed sees Laxus' eyes widen in horror, realising what's happening. The failsafe that Freed had built in when he'd realised the price of doing his job, of making sure they get home. "FRE…!" Laxus' voice cuts off mid shout, as he and the others vanish from view, leaving the Demon whirling in the middle of the mist and the barriers, howling its fury as it realises that they're gone, and turning its ire inwards on Freed.

It's like being caught in a maelstrom, and Freed doesn't even try to endure, weakened by his earlier efforts and comforted by the knowledge that the others are safe, he closes his eyes and smiles in the face of the Demon's fury as he lets it wash him away.