Rain had started to pour, but Mira had a hard time to notice even that. Laxus… the one she learned to appreciate, the one she even kissed… her family was destroyed by his hands. Her heart tightened at that unfair thought. He couldn't have done anything to prevent it. He too was a victim in all of this. So why had she been so selfish? Why havn't she reassure him she didn't held a grudge rather then abandoning him alone with his regrets? The fact that she needed some space to get her thoughts in order didn't justify the state he was probably in at the moment, thinking she hated him. She took a deep breath. "Come on Mira, you're not mad at him" she told herself. "he doesn't deserve that". And that not considering that, the more she walked, the more she missed his heat. Circling herself with her arms to try to control her shivers, she sarted to walk in Laxus's direction when she saw a silhouette dawn into the rain.
"Laxus" she let out with relief as she walked towards him.
Then her blood froze when the form got clearer.
"Missing your boyfriend?" Asked Blackburn with a cocky grin. "And I thought you hated fallens…"
"Laxus has nothing to do with monsters like you!"
He smiled once more, then, as fast as lightning, ran the distance that separated him from her, a hand on her throat before Mira could even know what happened.
"No matter what you tell yourself, honey, he's one of us" he whispered to her ear.
Shivers of disgust were added to those already brought by the cold. She was, however, able to offer him a provoking smile.
"You're wrong. Laxus is a thousand times better than…"
Her sentence was cut but the lack of air as the fingers tightened on her neck. Panic started to compress her chest as she didn't feel her feet on the ground anymore.
"And how will your Laxus react when he finds your dead body on the ground?" He maliciously said before tightening even more.
The young woman had barely time to register the awful message before her vision went black due to the lack of air and the pain. Mira knew that if she lost consciousness, she would never wake up again, but what could she do as she was unarmed and out of strength? Even so, he let go of her. After violently coughing, she blinked to recover her sight. A new person was now placed between Blackburn and her. Laxus! He had found her. But her joy soon became sadness as she realised she just dragged him into the wolf's den. The fallen was too strong for them, especially wounded as they were. Their only chance had been to hide and she ruined it! If only she had stayed put, if only she hadn't left, she wouldn't have condemned him to a certain death. "No" she reprimanded herself, "you can't give up!"
Focusing, she grabbed a rock as a weapon and tried to crush his skull as he believed she was K.O. She was inches away from her target when her arm was stopped.
"You're not stupid enough to think I didn't see you, don't you?" he snickered as he tightened his grip on her wrist.
And then, he propelled the young woman above his shoulder and sent her right at Laxus who had just gotten back up from his first hit. The latter caught the young woman the best he could but ended up falling once more to the force of the impact. Even though he was obviously dizzy, he got up once more, ready to fight till the end. Doing the same, Mira noticed a large stain of blood on her shirt. She clenched her teeth. That stupid wound to her arm must have reopened. Then, noticing that her arm was intact, she understood. Laxus… He was the one wounded.
Feeling that last ray of hope leaving her, she saw him get hit by new violent blows. In a movement of desperation, she picked the dagger dropped by Laxus and got between the fallen and him, the blade drawn before her. As the fallen ran once again at them, she plunged the dagger in his chest without doing any damage. Even worst, with only a hit with his elbow, he managed to make her drop her only weapon, the latter still stocked into the fallen's body. She collapsed next to Laxus, both of them wounded, barely able to move a muscle while their adversary didn't even seem to be fazed.
"Are you done with your useless struggle?" He taunted them.
Then his look stopped on Laxus. The blind young man could barely lift his head. His eyebrow and his lower lip were cut open and his hand was trying to stop the blood from leaking from his chest wound. As for his older ones, they seemed to have reopened.
"Hum" Said Blackburn in a light tone after evaluating his pitiful state. "I'll have to slack off a little if I want you to survive until we get to the wall.
"Why bringing us back there?" asked Mira, her voice filled with hatred despite the weakness she felt.
"Us?" Repeated the fallen with amusement. "I'm afraid you're not part of the trip, darling. As for Dreyar, he'll simply die where he should never have left. I'm anxious to see what it feels like to absorb another fallen's energy!" He said, a spark in his eyes.
"You're absolutely insane!" Spat Mira.
"Maybe so" he said, not at all annoyed by the insult. "Now let's get over with it."
Not leaving his expression of triumph, he grabbed Mira by the collar of her shirt and rose her before him, his claws placed on her throat, ready to rip it off any moment.
"Let her go!" Barked Laxus who had risen once again by so kind of miracle.
"Still on your feet?" Was impressed the fallen. "And I thought you were barely alive."
"I told you to let go of her" he repeated, lighting bolts in his eyes despite the obvious pain he was feeling in every parcel of his body.
Without letting Mira go, Blackburn prepared himself to receive Laxus's attack with his empty hand. Even though he easily dodged the first attack, he barely avoided the knife Laxus had grabbed on the ground. Seeing that the young man had left a small cut on his neck, one of his only weak points, the monster let out a swear, dropping Mira who collapsed on the ground. It was his time to attack and, with his now free two hands, he was fast… too fast. Despite his determination, Laxus could only block the two first hits, getting directly injured by the third one.
Blood ran on his chin from the corner of his mouth, but he wasn't ready to let Mira die in front of him. However, his body betrayed him, his leg collapsing under him as he was trying to get back to his feet.
Satisfied and seeing that his opponent was now helpless, the fallen turned once more to the young Strauss and lifted her back up.
"Where was I?" He said with delight as he saw Laxus throwing daggers with his eyes.
"You bastard!" He barked "What good does it make to you to kill her?"
At that thought, Blackburn suspended his movement, as if he just got an amazing idea. Then an awful smile was drawn on his lips.
"You're right" he let out. "Kill her directly will bring me nothing".
Then he drew large cuts on her but not at her throat. His claws rather let red gash on her abdomen, extracting from her a horrible cry of pain. Then he let her fall on the ground like a lifeless puppet.
"Mira!" he yelled.
The fallen smiled once more as if seeing her that way brought him an even bigger feeling of superiority.
"It's indeed more satisfying this way" he concluded with appreciation before turning to Laxus. "That way, you'll know she died alone…slowly."
Then he tightened his fist and hit his head, making sure it was hard enough for his to be unable to move a muscle put not hard enough to make him unconscious to understand what was happening. He then threw him on his shoulder and walked away, letting Mira where she was. Their looks crossed each other, anger mixing with despair as both of them knew it was most certainly the last time they saw each other.
Once they were out of sight, tears freely ran on Mira's face; for her own upcoming death, for her injuries that were excruciatingly painful but mostly for Laxus, who had left their hiding spot to try to save her despite everything, heading right now to a most certain death. She only had the strength to roll on her back, letting the rain pour on her wounded stomach has a terrible thought haunted her mind: "it's my fault… Everything is my fault".
Okay so, extremely dark chapter. I feel the need to once again remind you that I love happy endings. Please keep that in mind! I hope you like that chapter!
Lily xxx
