Chapter 19
The chill of a stone floor pulled Ivy from a wonderful dream involving Laxus. The cold brought with it a throbbing pain in her shoulders and a headache. The thought came to her that she really needed to stop drinking at the guild before the memories of where she had been, and what had happened flooded her mind.
Ivy attempted to jerk up to her feet but fell with a gasp as her shoulders were pulled back, stopping her from keeping balance or completing the motion, hitting the floor. Moving to a seated position Ivy took in her surroundings.
Stone walls greeted her vision in the low light of a small window that was too high to see out of or reach. She sat in the middle of the room and Ivy's wrists where restrained with metal cuffs behind her that had a chain connecting to the floor. To her left was a wooden door that was well past its prime, and as she turned to her right Ivy saw a small form with blue hair laying against a wall.
"Levy!?" Ivy's shout bounced around the small space, but did not rise her friend. Scooting around as best she could Ivy tried again. "Levy! Levy wake up!"
Her back suddenly stiffened and the hair on her neck stood on end almost begging her not to turn as Ivy heard the door creak open.
"She won't be waking anytime soon." A smooth cold voice that tugged at the Ivy's memory had her slowly turning; refusing to let herself feel intimidated or show her fear.
Standing next to the door was a man in black robes. His hood was pushed back and the first thing Ivy noticed was a disfiguring scar that cut through his left eye. She felt a sickening drop in her stomach that wasn't the hammer as she looked into the other eye that was midnight blue, Remington Wallace. Her false confidence fell away as she shrunk back.
"It's been a long time Ivy." The words that flowed from his lips where like ice and had a forced flatness.
Hunching her shoulders and glancing down at her thigh Ivy wondered if she could activate the hammer without grasping it. In that moment she realized the hammer felt heavy and the steady warmth that she usually felt through the side of her pants was gone.
"It won't work," He waiting for Ivy to look up before continuing. "Those cuffs are anti magic. Some of the strongest ones jewel can buy."
The way he looked at her made Ivy's skin crawl. Not in the way a pervert would sometimes look at her, like they couldn't wait to see her naked no matter what it took, Ivy could have handled that. No, this was a look of someone who had caught an animal, caught some lesser being and would soon enjoy proving how worthless it was.
"You said Levy won't wake up. Why?" Ivy tried to resolve herself and keep looking Wallace in the eye. She refused to think of him as Remi or Remington, it was an easy reminder that the boy she had fallen in love with had been a lie.
"Walking coma, a spell one of our mages has. Her body does as he commands but her mind stays asleep. When we wake her up in several days she won't remember a thing."
"Several days?"
"Yes, bringing the hammer here has been a goal for so long it would be rude to proceed before everyone can arrive."
"We're going to be kept in here till then?" Ivy glanced at Levy. They could do anything they wanted to her and the small woman wouldn't know a thing.
"Don't worry, no harm will come to her if you cooperate. I was going to have someone kidnap her anyway if your friends hadn't followed you." At Ivy's widening eyes a grin spread over Wallace's face. "You didn't actually think we weren't watching you? Those freak lightning storms in Magnolia? You have really lost your touch on the whole running and hiding thing."
Limping forward he stood in front of Ivy towering over her as the blood drained from her face. "I think I know why you've been messing up, and I believe it has something to do with a tall blond dragon slayer."
Ivy attempted to pull away as he bent and began reaching for her face."What have you done to Laxus?"
She tried to bite him when she reached the limit of her movement but missed, and was rewarded with a fist smashing against her temple. As her vision spun Wallace grabbed her jaw, and forced Ivy's head back. His grip was stronger then she thought it would be.
"Your little friend was the only one we brought. Two angry dragon slayers aren't something I wish to deal with, and by the time they figure out how to find us we will be finished." His words brought Ivy the slightest bit of relief and hope, Laxus and Gajeel would try to find them, but the pain of nails digging into her cheeks caused that feeling to leave quickly.
"You know, I can see why he likes you." Wallace let his voice drip with disgust as his eye moved over her. "That freakish body of your's finally filled out properly," He pushed her head side to side, "though your face could still use work, but that doesn't matter now."
Ivy couldn't say anything, his grip forcing her mouth to remain closed. Tears started to fill her eyes. The word she hated more than anything filling her mind. Freak. That couldn't be the reason Laxus likes me, could it? Freak. Disgusting Freak. No, no stop it! Wallace lies. He always lies, don't let his lies win.
She tried to focus on what Laxus said to her near the pool. He cares about me, I know he does. Doesn't change the fact that you're a Freak. But maybe.. maybe that's not a bad thing!
So consumed in her own thoughts Ivy didn't see the knife that Wallace had pulled from underneath his cloak until the metal caught a small beam of light. Now it was the only thing she could focus on as he began gliding the blade along her cheek.
"Those two bodies in front of that barn where my parents. This eye is useless and I can't feel most of my left side. But the thing that frustrates me most is you might have lead a happy life with someone you love. You know, there were several women who said they would always love me before I came to your shit hole of a village but they vanished as soon as they saw my new face." He raised the knife until it was poised above Ivy's left eye. His smile was full of malice and hate "If you survive our gathering, but that's unlikely, you'll find out if Laxus Dreyar is only skin deep. Oh and I suppose that old saying an eye for an eye applies here."
Ivy didn't try to suppress a scream as his arm swung down.
Levy found herself standing on a large ledge of a mountain in the middle of the afternoon with constructed wooden levels full of people facing a tall door that was cut into the stone.
Confusion overwhelmed her as she tried to piece together the events that could have brought her to this spot. She remembered suffocating with the putty wrapped around her face and the urge to sleep, but then she was here. Nothing in the middle, no gaps of anything missing just that memory flowing into the present.
Looking down at herself Levy noticed she was wearing cuffs that she registered as magic canceling. She was also clean and wearing a soft yellow dress that she had never seen before. Fear started to grip her as she continued to try and figure out what happened when a hand rested on her shoulder, causing Levy to jump.
"Are you alright?" Looking to the concerned voice Levy felt her jaw drop at seeing Mr. Roth standing next to her; the magic council Librarian.
"Mr. Roth? What are you doing here?"
"I've been part of this organization a long time. Oh and don't worry you've been under a spell, but we promised Miss. Beltrum that no harm would come to you and none has." He was more cheerful than Levy had ever seen him.
"Ivy? Wait whats.."
"Now we don't want to ruin the surprise and it's about to start." He finished talking over her and removed his hand to place a finger against his lips, shushing her.
Levy's mind wouldn't slow and was everywhere at once. How long had she been under a spell? Days? Weeks? Where was Ivy? Where was Gajeel? As the iron dragon slayer entered her mind Levy realized she could no longer feel him. When she noticed this Levy's hand moved to grip her neck over the scales, but the skin didn't feel as hard as it had been. A sharp pain shot through her chest and lodged itself in her heart where she could feel the weight of Gajeels absence.
Trying to distract herself Levy glanced to her other side and saw a tall lean man that seemed incredibly bored. He had a sword at his side and when he noticed her looking he flashed a knife out from his coat sleeve as he scowled down at her, sending a clear message. Levy turned forward and focused on the mountain door.
Taking in more details than before she noticed that three of the four meteor weapons she had read about were placed into the stone. They kept glowing and rattling in their bindings, the sound loud enough to be heard over the murmuring crowd. The sight of the objects trying to escape filled Levy with apprehension.
As she was about to try getting more information from Mr. Roth a man in a black robes, with a large scar on his face, limped to stand in front of the doors and the crowd went silent. He stood there seeming to enjoy the build of intensity before he began to speak, his voice magically amplified.
"Welcome! I realize you have traveled far for a moment that we have waited multiple generations to accomplish, so I will attempt to make this speech quick." He paused as the crowd cheered. "Today we will bring back balance! A balance that was destroyed when fearful fools decided that life and death should not be controlled. They sealed away only part of the whole leaving the world falling to one side. Today we will righten this mistake. Today we will release Mors! He will stand alongside Zeref as the opposition of the death curse, and bring back life!"
Levy latched onto the name as panic and regret flooded her. Mors. Mors! Lily said Mars! Her sudden screams to make them stop went unheard as the shouts and echoes from the crowd drown out all other noise. She tried to move forward but found herself jerked back and gagged with a cloth that dug into the corners of her mouth as it was tied.
"Please Miss. McGarden, try to control yourself." Mr. Roth spoke in a soft voice as if reprimanding a child.
Levy started to struggle but the feel of metal pressing into her throat made her freeze.
Tears began to stream down her face. She had been so excited with the chance of getting closer to Gajeel again she hadn't double checked the job request. Then Levy remembered she was going to ask to see the request while Gajeel had been sitting on her couch, but she had become distracted and now it was to late.
Mors. Levy knew that name.
She had come across it while looking for information on Tartaros. The book she found had information on Zeref and demons, but it had been in an ancient language. She hadn't been able to translate before Tartaros attacked, but she decided to keep it. It ended up taking months to work through and even then there were language gaps.
Who ever had started this cult had the wrong information. Mors had not been the opposition of Zeref he had been the foundation. The first man cursed, the example.A mistake because the same word had been used for both but the placement gave the true meaning. A simple mistake in the understanding of the languages sentence structure.
As the the people finally quieted down Levy let herself focus again on the man giving the speech. She couldn't help being repulsed by him. He acted as if he was performing a show. "Let me introduce the woman who will help us. She has been running for years but is now ready to place the final piece. Miss. Ivy Beltrum!"
Two guards flanked the tall woman as they moved to stand near the robed man. Ivy was dressed in a flowing white gown that had slits running up the sides revealing her legs all the way to her hips, allowing the hammer to be visible. It had a plunging neckline and was sleeveless.
If it had been any other situation Levy might have thought her friend looked beautiful, but Ivy's face brought a sob to Levy's throat. A white bandage wrap covered her left eye, but had started to turn a yellowish red as liquid seeped through. Her thick wild curls had been cut to less than an inch of fuzz making Ivy's gaunt and tired face more noticable.
The man leaned forward and whispered something to Ivy that caused the woman to look toward Levy. When Ivy met Levy's eyes the small woman tried to shake her head, not caring as she felt the knife dig into her skin, trying to convey that it didn't matter what happened to her. That Ivy needed to keep the door from opening.
Levy didn't get the reassurance she wanted. Instead Ivy looked away and nodded to the man who was now gripping her upper arm. The two of them moved to the door with the guards as the crowd fell into a silence that seemed impossible with the amount of people present.
Ivy's cuffs were removed. The woman easily lifted the hammer, let it grow and placed it into the cavity that had been made for it. Quickly the handcuffs were replaced and Ivy was pulled away by the guards. Leaving the robed man standing alone.
Levy started to shake as she felt a thrum of magic vibrate through the ground, almost like a pulse. The book had said Mors could no longer be considered a man, but something more. Levy didn't want to know what was meant by something more.
Two more people in robes stepped forward and placed their hands on the doors. Levy could hear them casting but was too far away to make out what they were saying cleary.
Black glyphs began to form around the edges and when they met at the top a black line shot down the middle of the doors. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, until something slammed against the stone from the inside.
The hammer was knocked out of the stone and landed with a loud crunching noise, leaving a small crater several feet away. The two mages that still had their hands on the doors and were thrown back with shouts of surprise. The only thing that kept the doors from bursting open were the straps that still held the other weapons in place. Though there was enough give that a little less than a half foot gab had been created, but nothing could be seen in the darkness through it.
The man in charge quickly limped forward about to release the restraints when his head was grabbed by what was behind the door. The arm was disportionately long for a human with grey skin that hung off the bone. It's fingers were slim with broken and yellowed nails that formed claws.
There was a moment, barely a second, were the world froze and Levy thought of the things she wished she had done differently. She would have told Gajeel sooner how she felt. She would have done her job instead of being so absorbed with being in love.
Then it was over as a scream of fear and pain ripped through the air, only to be cut off in a gurgle. The man started to convulse and everything about him seemed to rot. His robes disintegrated in chunks. The rest of his clothes followed. As his flesh was revealed Levy was reminded of when she left meat in the fridge for months. Greenish grey almost liquidy skin and muscle dripped to the ground unable to hold together. Every part of him fell away until only a pile of bones and a puddle remained.
People quickly began panicking, screaming, and trampling each other in fear. Trying to escape what they had released.
Levy was suddenly free from the knife and knocked to the ground as Mr. Roth ran past her. Scrambling to her feet Levy saw the stampeding mob was headed in her direction; toward the small path that was the only exit. There was no chance she could out run it, and the only other directions where toward the mountain ledge or into the mob. Instead of moving Levy started to pull at her cuffs hoping to get free and perform the magic she needed to save herself.
She didn't have enough time. The wave of bodies hit her with enough force to send her flying back. As she fell to the ground Levy squeezed her eyes shut preparing for the pain of being crushed by feet. Instead a familiar cold wrapped around her and pulled her down. Levy kept her eyes closed as her body transitioned into the shadows she had grown accustomed to.
Warm strong arms locked her against a chest that Levy thought she would never feel again. Clinging to him she inhaled deeply while pressing light kisses to any exposed skin she could reach tasting the salty tang of his sweat; trying to take in everything that was this man as they moved through the dark.
The trip didn't last long and Levy opened her eyes as she once more felt the afternoon sun. She was only able to look up in to red eyes for a second before Gajeel's mouth was on hers. His kiss was hard and desperate as if she would disappear any second. Levy couldn't complain she needed him just as much.
A warm sensation of comfort swept away the pain that had been in her chest as Gajeel rested his hand against the scales on her neck. He pulled away before Levy wanted and she couldn't hold back a whine, but she knew they had a job to complete.
"Lev, what did I say about leaving my side?" Even though Gajeel spoke with a light teasing voice Levy could see the wetness threatening to flood over his lower lashes.
Giving him a soft smile she pushed her forehead against his and spoke softly, "Never again."
A forced cough caught their attention. They didn't pull apart but Gajeel relaxed his arms and let Levy slide down him to stand on her own feet. They turned to see Freed standing with a faint blush and refusing to look at them. "I need to teach Levy the spell to seal the door. We don't have much time."
Gajeel let out a small huff before bringing Levy's wrists to his mouth and biting off her cuffs. Levy suppressed a squeak as his teeth scraped her wrist, causing goose bumps to spread up her arm, and chose to ignored the heated smirk Gajeel gave her.
As soon as she was free Levy grabbed Gajeel's hand and moved to Freed, who pulled from his bag the book they had found not so long ago in Ivy's room.
He was gone. The boy who had haunted Ivy's dreams. The man who had cut out her eye and taken pleasure in tormenting her for the past several days. He was gone.
Ivy could only stand from where she had been placed and stare at the puddle that had once been Remington Wallace. She couldn't seem to feel anything. No happiness over his demise, or regret that she wasn't the one to kill him. A faint memory of a floral smell and the warmth of her mother's arms came forward as Ivy closed her eye and tried to stop the numbness that was filling her.
Tears blurred her vision after the other children had been picking on her.
"I hate them! Why are they so mean!? I wish they would go away!" Her young voice was broken with sobs.
"Someday they will go away, and you'll probably never see them again." At her mother's words Ivy started to calm down, but only because she didn't understand.
"You're.. you're not mad that I hate them?"
"Well that is a strong word, but you feel how you feel. Although not too far down the road you might feel different, because them being mean will teach you to be nice to others." Her mother chuckled at Ivy's scrunched face before continuing. "Everything that happens to us makes us who we are later, and if you end up liking who you become a part of that is because of the people who wronged you..." Her mother trailed off as she studied Ivy before smiling.
"Your father tells me I sometimes forget your age when I talk to you. I'm starting to think he's right, but let's not tell him that." She brushed her hand through Ivy's hair, being careful not to get tangled in the curls.
Ivy let out a slow breath as the memory faded. Wallace wasn't worth the effort of her hate. She could never forgive him, but if he hadn't destroyed her life she would probably still be on that farm resenting her situation and hating herself. She wouldn't have realized being weird, being a freak wasn't a bad thing. She wouldn't have discovered Fairy Tail, where acceptance had been given without a second thought.
Levy immediately came to Ivy's mind with the sounds of screaming that entered her ears and caused Ivy to snap open her eye to look for her small friend. Levy had been standing near the mountain path, but when Ivy spun in that direction her sight was met with chaos.
Unable to see her friend Ivy watched as people were pushed from the wooded levels that the audience had been standing on. Ivy could imagine the crunching noise as they hit the ground, and even when some of them didn't break bones they were soon trampled by the crowd that was fleeing from the door. The door!
Ivy jerked her head back around. The door was fortunately still closed, but the elongated grey arm was beginning to pull at the straps keeping it contained. Her eye fell to the hammer. If she could get that she might be able to hit the monster back and seal it away.
The guards had been in such a hurry and excited when they put her cuffs back on that they didn't notice that Ivy had moved her right hand around so it closed on her palm instead of her wrist. With a quick tug that hand became free.
She could feel a small amount of magic become available to her, but with her other wrist still cuffed she could only hope it was enough to lift the hammer. She knew the only reason it had stayed on her thigh before was because of the harness. Her pants where cut off around it when she had been cleaned and redressed.
Sprinting forward she jumped over several bodies before reaching the hammer. Grabbing the handle she tried to pick it up like she had a hundred times before. It barely wobbled. Ivy felt her muscles strain as she continued to pull on the weapon, but it wouldn't budge.
Thuds of things hitting the ground caught her attention and had Ivy looking once more to the door. Several of the straps had given way and fallen. The door had been opened more and now she could see a face pushed against the space as the hand continued to tear at the other restaurants.
The skin was pulled taught against it's skull. There were pockets and dents in it's face that left distorting shadows, and its mouth hung open gasping for the air that it had long been deprived of. Eyes that where large and white saw nothing, but made Ivy feel like they could pull out her soul as it seemed to focus on her.
Pushing down her fear Ivy looked toward her new target and ran forward colliding into the right door. The force caused the arm to be caught between the stone pieces and Ivy was rewarded for her effort by a high pitched shriek that she could swear almost made her ears bleed.
Unfortunately it got over the pain and started shoving itself against the door allowing the gap to form and once more trying to free itself. It quickly destroyed more straps leaving only one, that braced the shield, still connecting the two doors. It was a miracle that the other weapons didn't fall, but Ivy got the strange feeling that while they had tried to escape before they now wouldn't move until the door was sealed.
With the shield in the way the arm couldn't reach where the strap was connected to the stone, which was the only place they had been able to be broken. The monster seemed to realise this and began slamming against the doors. Ivy felt her feet slide with each hit, and cursed the women who had dressed her and made her go barefoot for a more pleasing appearance.
Then to her horror the metal piece holding the strap started to break. Ivy was just able to grab it as it gave way and quickly wrapped the leather around her wrist. The monster hit the door again and Ivy cried out as the joints in her arm felt like they were being pulled apart.
Tears started to fall down her face, she couldn't hold out much longer. Her legs began to shake as Ivy continued to push everything she had against the door, and a scream was ripped from her throat when her arm was once more jerked.
Suddenly she felt the hair on her arms stand on end. Lighting shot through the gap in the door causing the monster let out another shriek and fall back. The opening slammed close as a body pushed against the other door.
"Hey beautiful." The words sounded cocky while feeling incredibly cheesy, leaving Ivy no doubt who had come to her rescue.
Craning her neck Ivy tried to see the man who had the deep voice that could make her knees weak; even when she didn't already feel like collapsing. She was finally able to move and let her eye fall on Laxus, and he was perfectly gorgeous; though looking incredibly tired and stressed. Before she could say anything or try to see the reaction he had to her bandage or shaved head the monster was once more ramming against the doors, and Ivy was back to bracing herself.
Some of the load had been lifted with Laxus helping her push, but her arm still holding the strap, had started to go numb. Ivy chose to ignore it as together they were able to keep the gap closed enough that the arm couldn't get through.
"I'm hoping you have a plan!?" Ivy shouted at the door, not wanting to change position and possibly slip back.
"Yeah," Laxus grunted out as the doors where hit again. "Lock it up. You need to grab the hammer… umph damn it….. when I tell you to."
Ivy didn't respond, she was too busy trying to figure out how to get her hand free of the cuff so she could lift the hammer. An idea finally formed in her mind. Ivy was amazed it took her this long, but she hadn't slept much the past few days so her brain power was lacking.
Just as she was mentally preparing herself Laxus yelled, "NOW!"
Ivy pulled her arm free of the leather and spun away from the door. She caught a glimpse of Gajeel taking her place, but couldn't waist time to focus her surprise on him.
As she sprinted towards the hammer Ivy grabbed her left hand and squeezed as hard as she could. She was weaker with her lack of magic, but that didn't mean she wasn't still a power house by normal standards. Gritting her teeth Ivy felt her bones snap and push together. Refusing to look down Ivy pulled off the cuff.
When she gripped the hammer in her right hand Ivy felt power and a sense of calm flow through her body. She hadn't realized how much she had relied on the hammer until it had been taken from her.
Turning back to the door Ivy saw Levy and Freed with their hands on stone looking back at her, waiting. Rushing forward she pushed the hammer into place.
Glyphs immediately started to move around the edge of the door as the two word mages began to cast. The monster seemed to realize what was happening and began throwing its body against the doors in a panicked pattern while screaming. A hiss filled their ears as the door sealed and the loud shrieks and pounding suddenly stopped.
Ivy collapsed letting her knees hit the ground. She used the last bit of energy she had to place the hammer back on her thigh. Her stomach filled with happy butterflies and for a moment she imagined a voice whispering to her, "I'm so proud of you. You did it. Now get some rest."
Gently rubbing the leather handle Ivy felt herself smile and would have curled up on the ground if Laxus hadn't scooped her into his arms. He started talking while pressing his lips to her head and Ivy knew she should listen, but couldn't seem to figure out how. Instead she focused on the smell of a thunderstorm that hung around the man, along with the musk of body odor.
Out of the corner of her eye Ivy thought she saw the other weapons in the door fade away, as if they had never been there in the first place. Deciding she was hallucinating Ivy turned her head into Laxus' broad chest and fell asleep.
I have two more chapters planned for this they will probably be short.
Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through this adventure!
Leave me a comment I can only improve if I know something isn't right. Thanks again.
P.P.V
