Chapter 16

Ivy was numb. Time stopped having meaning as her mind went into overdrive. This is your fault.

Through the rushing in her ears that sounded like a waterfall Ivy faintly registered a low voice trying to get her attention, and her body being moved, Laxus. As much as she wanted to leave her thoughts behind and go to him, she couldn't. You'll be the death of him too.

Out of the corner of Ivy's unfocused vision she caught a flash of blue; Levy. They'll all die if you stay.

Pulling deeper into herself Ivy decided she would come out when she had a plan.


Laxus didn't know what to do. Ivy hadn't moved or responded in over an hour. She had gone into shock, and the waiting for her to come back was going to drive him insane.

Looking down at the letter he had already read multiple times, Laxus let his eyes scan through it again.

Dear Miss. Ivy Beltrum,

The time it has taken to find you has been exceptionally long and wasteful. You have forced my hand with your constant running, and caused these deaths to be deemed necessary.

I will see you at the barn in six days at 3pm. If you choose not to arrive the consequences will rest with you, and be another cause of your cowardice.

See you soon

Grand Head, Remington Wallace

Laxus turned the paper over as he placed it back on his desk no longer wanting to see that name, and rested his head in his hands. The last time he had felt this powerless had been during Tartaros.

At least then his objective had been simple; get the blood of the demon who had poisoned them and save his friends. Now was something a little more complicated, and no matter how many times he went over the details nothing caught his attention as a way to help.

54 women had been killed throughout Fiore during the night. Each had been found with a small wooden toy hammer and a copy of the letter.

A few smaller cities and every major one had been hit, even Magnolia. Some places had more than one body found.

The only similarity between how the women were killed was that their deaths were quick.

The scary part was how little anyone knew. The number of members of this order was unknown, but obviously they were everywhere.

Did they have mages? What were they after that caused them to need the hammer?

Laxus looked up at the woman on the couch. She was curled so tightly in on herself he couldn't help wonder if her muscles had cramped yet. He had brought Ivy to his office after they had been given information from his grandfather with Gajeel and Levy.

Gajeel was the one who had been able to get all the details from the council officials, and it was a good thing the iron dragon slayer was able to get in contact with Makarov as quickly as he did. Turns out the council wanted to find and take Ivy into custody, and not for her own safety.

Makarov had easily dodged any question of housing or knowing her, and the genius or lazy old man had yet to officially fill out any paperwork affiliating her with the guild. The idea that Makarov could predict possible futures was a constant topic for debate.

Laxus felt a burning anger rush through him at the idea of Ivy being locked up. The council assumed that if she had gotten help years ago these deaths might have been prevented. Laxus knew better, this group would stop at nothing and no one knew if the council had been infiltrated as well.

Trying to think what he would do if he were in Ivy's place Laxus leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. When he was younger he had felt he was on his own, but those were just the concepts of a misguided idiot. His grandfather had always been there, his friends, and the guild too if he had just dropped his pride and asked them to be. Ivy had made the same choices he would have, but no one could stay isolated forever.

The smell of blood caught his attention bring the blond man from his musings. When he jerked his head down to focus back on Ivy, Laxus could see her gripping her leg with enough pressure that her thumb nail had broken through the skin.

Pushing himself up from the desk Laxus moved swiftly across the room to sit next to her. Trying to be as gentle as possible he pried Ivy's hand away from her calf while the word MINE drifted across his mind, and an overpowering urge to protect consumed him.

The anxiety that had moved through Laxus over the past several days when the piece of dragon inside him reared its head was nowhere to be found. He was starting to think this "Pulling" dragon slayer thing wasn't so bad, he probably wouldn't have looked twice in Ivy's direction under different circumstances.

"Ow" The word escaped Ivy's mouth no louder than a soft sigh, but to Laxus it was music as she finally met his eyes.

"Welcome back"

"Sorry, It's just everything I never wanted to happen." Biting her lip Ivy looked down and watched as blood ran down her leg and into her boot. "I need a bandage and something for my stomach; I feel like I could be sick."

"There should be supplies in the infirmary."

Standing from the couch Laxus waited for Ivy to start walking for the door. When she just stood there and seeming to get lost once more in thoughts Laxus shifted his weight to nudge her with his hip back to reality. Her eyes unclouded as Ivy's head snapped around to focus on him.

"Could you teach me how to lightning teleport?"

"You already know how to do that." Laxus arked his brow at the woman in confusion.

"No, I can't just do it. It only happens when I'm panicking and want to escape." Ivy pulled at her lower lip with her teeth and was unable to keep the stress and fear from her eyes as she waited for Laxus' response. He took a moment before giving Ivy his usually cocky grin.

"Okay, but let's get your leg cleaned up first." Giving her another push towards the door Laxus got Ivy moving. As soon as her back was turned he let his smile fall, and hoped he was making the wrong assumption.


Levy was in tears. It was something she had never liked about her personality; not only did tears come easily when she was sad but anger brought them forth as well.

Standing alone in the Master's office she could only stare at the large communication lacrima in front of her as her body shook with urge to smash something. Preferably the face that had hung up on her less than five minutes ago.

Closing her eyes and throwing her head back Levy started to take deep breaths to calm herself. In 1.. 2.. 3, Out 1.. 2.. 3. This cycle was something she did often and Levy let her head roll forward as the familiar sensation of her muscles unbinding took over.

Focusing on relaxing Levy didn't notice a large man enter the room until muscled arms wrapped around her mid section. She didn't even react knowing no one else would touch her like this, she kept her eyes closed as she began tracing those familiar studs.

"What pissed you off." The growl in her ear made a small smile pull at Levy's lips. The tone promised retribution for who ever earned her wrath. Releasing a long breath Levy leaned back into the embrace as she wiped away the wet streaks from her face.

"How did you know I was mad?" She was truly curious how Gajeel could tell the difference, but the more she thought about it anger was something she didn't hide as well around him.

With Jet and Droy she took her calming breaths and if the wet anger came she tried to excuse herself. They were protective and had this image of her that Levy felt if she broke their friendship would suffer; the two men where of the softer side of the guild. With Gajeel keeping the face of a calm collected person didn't seem to matter as much. He would listen, hell Gajeel would hold a punching bag for her if she needed it, and still tell her she was beautiful as she beat out her aggression.

"Because I know you." Before she could respond Gajeel gave Levy a light kiss on the cheek and pulled her back into a chair. "So what's up?"

"We've lost the council. You know I would have thought it could last more than a year before getting screwed up, but silly me." Rotating in Gajeel's lap so she could sit back while straddling his thighs Levy continued. "After talking to a very unhelpful individual I've learned that the book we all signed to gain knowledge from has never existed in the Council archives. When I informed him that I requested it the other day and received access to it from the man who took over my job I was told that said person has never worked in the council, and when I asked for Mr. Roth I learned that he has taken an unexpected vacation."

"Guess we're on our own with this one." Letting his arms relax around her waist Gajeel leaned forward to bump his forehead against Levy's "Not like that ever stopped us before."

"I always appreciate your overabundance of confidence," Levy pushed back with her head as she tired to ground out her nervousness, "but without more information we could be in trouble."

"Like we've never been in trouble. Gihi" Pulling back suddenly Gajeel caused Levy to lose her balance, falling forward into his chest with a squeak. "Hammer girl agreed to help and I just saw her go out to the practice field with Sparky. She's probably calmed down enough to answer questions."

Levy took a moment to enjoy the comfort she received against Gajeel's chest, but before her mind could convince her into wasting time with a further exploration of those muscles Levy pushed herself back to slide off the man's legs. Adjusting her skirt Levy looked at Gajeel with a large smile.

"Let's get in some trouble." Her words were met with the laugh she loved.


Sitting on a stone wall near the edge of the practice fields Levy watched as Ivy shot different places in an arc of blue electricity. The tall woman had been working for well over an hour, and had shown improvement. Not much, but she no longer collided into the nearest tree every time.

We're in so much trouble. Levy looked down at the small notebook in her hand with the the sparse scribblings written there. Ivy hadn't been able to tell them more than what they already knew. It wouldn't be the first time Levy went on a mission that was lacking in information, but it never made her feel comfortable.

Flipping the notebook closed she placed it into her bag before looking up to watch the Thunder Legion and Gajeel continue training with Ivy. Laxus started the woman on a drill where she would teleport within ten feet of a person then engage in combat. The woman was currently sparing with Gajeel. They weren't going full out, but watching the way Ivy moved was always entertaining.

"Any idea where we're going tomorrow?" Levy jumped with enough force to send her falling off the wall if a hand hadn't pushed her back into place.

Turning to look at the tongue wagging grin of Bickslow Levy let out a huff of irritation. The man had snuck up on her deliberately while floating on his totems.

"If you had paid attention earlier then you would know we are taking the train to Hargeon and from there taking a ship to Caelum. Orion was located in the south west of Caelum's main land mass, it should take us roughly five days to get there." Levy let the annoyance she felt soak her words.

"I was just talking about tomorrow, but I'm glad you know what's going on." Bickslow rested his elbow on his knee and let his hand cradle his chin.

The smile he was giving Levy made her feel like he was about to stat picking on her, which was very likely, but she didn't want to deal with Bickslow and it was causing her more irritation.

Bickslow was someone who could easily throw Levy off being as unpredictable as he was. Glancing at the practice ring to where Freed stood waiting to be attacked, Levy wondered how he could be bestfriends with Bickslow. The other word mage had a need for order that would borderline OCD.

"Opposites often ground each other, and help each person be more than what they are alone." Bickslows voice lacked his usual cackling undertone as he stared past Levy.

"You aren't a mind reader are you?" Levy nervously shifted away from the floating man.

"Nah, I can just read people well." He gave Levy a reassuring smile that didn't have any tongue before continuing. "Seeing souls also helps."

"Do you look at people's souls in a regular basis?" Levy curiosity overwhelmed her instinct to feel uncomfortable.

"Only when something interests me. Like boss man and hammer girl, but I just enjoy watching that dragon slayer soul bonding thing whenever it happens." Bickslows full smile came back as he noticed Levy's look of confusion. "I can see the piece of the dragon soul that resides in each of them."

"But what did you mean by bonding?"

"Well let me finish and I'll tell you." Bickslow blew a raspberry causing Levy to let out a reluctant snort. "That dragon part generally stays dormant, but when a certain individual comes along it wakes up and starts reaching for them. It's strange because usually souls stay inside an individual's body but these guys drift out towards who ever they are stuck on. I watched it start happening with Natsu before Lisanna "died", and it went away after she was gone. Now it's attached to Lucy and Lisanna coming back didn't change that."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Nope never asked, but I watched the same thing happen with you and metal head.."

"Wait, what!"

"Yeah, after Tenrou your souls were like this," Bickslow laced the tips of his fingers against each other, "now you're like this" his hands moved to interlock tightly together.

Levy felt her face heat as she looked at the ground. What do you say when someone informs you they've watched your soul intertwine with someone else's?

"Now Laxus and Ivy's are following that same pattern, but accelerated. Anyway the results are always fun to see. Oops, looks like your man is feeling protective. See you tomorrow!"

Levy brought her head up as Bickslow zoomed off toward the guild cackling, and Gajeel finished jogging his way over to her. Thinking about how Bickslow could see her soul mix with the man in front of her Levy felt heat radiate from her chest through her entire body.

Gajeel was about to ask what she had been discussing with Bickslow when the soft happy smile she sent his way caused his words to halt in his throat. The small woman hopped off the wall and grabbed his larger hand.

"Let's go home Gajeel."

"You don't want to stay here?"

"Nope, and I need to talk to you about something." Ignoring Gajeels look of apprehension Levy smiled and began to pull him in the direction that would take them to his house.


Laxus had convinced Ivy to stay and eat at the guild hall after her training session. Now the two mages walked down the paved streets of Magnolia, each stalling knowing what would happen once they reached Laxus' home.

The atmosphere around them felt thick with awkwardness and it was only made worse by their silence. Looking to the woman next to him Laxus saw her shoulders hunch forward and he could detect the slightest tremor running though her arms.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His question startled Ivy, and she half jumped as she turned her head towards him.

"Not really, I just feel bad that I didn't know more."

The uncomfortable silence swept over them once more, leaving Laxus frustrated. If this was how his night was going to go it might be better to just get it over with. Turning to Ivy again Laxus decided to backtrack his thinking, no matter how uncomfortable it was he wasn't ready to end what could be his last night with her.

Moving quickly Laxus grabbed Ivy's hand and intertwined their fingers. Adding to the list of things he never did until he met Ivy was now holding hands with someone. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he felt the calluses that covered her hand or as he heard the soft gasp that responded to the sudden contact.

The pressure that they had both been feeling vanished, leaving an odd sensation of contentment. Ivy leaned against Laxus and let the tension ease from her shoulders and decided to stall just a little longer.


Ivy turned to Laxus as they walked into his home several hours later. They had talked about everything and nothing that didn't involve the present circumstances, but now her plan had to be put into action.

"You know I never drank much until you ran into me. Would you like anything?" Ivy called over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen.

"Whatever you're getting is fine." Laxus moved to the couch and rearranged the throw pillows on one end before kicking off his shoes. Might as well make this comfortable.

Ivy walked back into the room with two glasses of scotch. Laxus accepted the glass she offered him and took a deep breath before downing the whole thing. He then placed the glass down as his head started to feel slightly fuzzy.

"I really hope you didn't O.D me." Laxus looked up at the shocked women before swinging his legs up and laying back against the pillows.

"How how did.." Ivy sat her glass down before she dropped it and moved to stand over the man.

"Figured you grabbed something while in the infirmary." Laxus started to feel the effects of the sleeping drug as his mind started to wonder. The dragon tried to push Laxus back to attention, but he could only focus on the woman standing in shock and confusion. The woman who reminded him so much of himself with her inability to accept help that he couldn't even be annoyed at the choice she made.

"I just don't want anyone…" Ivy bent over Laxus face using the armrest as support. "If you knew then why did you let me drug you?"

"You wouldn't let me come with you.. with you anyway. We'll catch up later." His words were beginning to slur and his eyelids felt heavy.

"No! Laxus, don't follow me! I can't…" Ivy's words were cut off as Laxus' large hand landed on her face.

"Can't.. Stop me… unless you stay. See you in a few days." As sleep took over him his arm fell back against the couch. Laxus thought he felt something soft press against the side of his face, and words he assumed to be a dream.

"I don't know what I would do if you died because of me." A soft sigh brushed his skin. "I hope I don't see you in a few days you stubborn ass."


I'm sorry for the time it took me to get this chapter out. I've had a bad couple of weeks and the words that would explain what I wanted wouldn't come to my brain.

I've gotten messages of people following my story and I can't thank you enough! It keeps me going when I feel frustrated!

I hope to get the next chapter out faster, but I can't make any promises.

P.P.V