Chapter 8
"Okay. We made it. Smell anything?"
Laxus and Gajeel had arrived at Porlyusica's hut very quickly, and were hiding in the bushes surrounding the area.
"No. Dammit, I'm gonna have to get closer." Gajeel reluctantly edged forward out of the bushes, and Laxus could see the wariness in his eyes. He smirked, then began to chuckle as Gajeel tiptoed around the door and began sniffing in the daintiest, most out of character way. Unfortunately, Gajeel heard him and whipped around indignantly, only to freeze in terror. Laxus' smile fell, and he suddenly felt a firm hand on his shoulder. Turning, he found himself staring into the eyes of the furious healer. He scooted back, and accidentally rammed into Gajeel.
"Shit!"
"What do you two think you're doing here?"
Laxus spoke first. "Uh, n-nothing ma'am. We were just—uh…"
"We were picking berries for Mirajane!" Gajeel burst out. Porlyusica stared, then did the unthinkable. She smiled. Her lips twitched uncontrollably and it was some time before she spoke.
"Ahem. Berries. I see. Well, in that case, by all means go on your merry way." And she swept past them, unlocked the door, and went in. Laxus and Gajeel looked at each other, then walked away as casually as possible.
"Did you catch the scent?" Laxus muttered.
"Yeah. I got it." Mumbled Gajeel. He seemed to drag his heels a little as they walked onward towards the trees. They had almost made it out of the clearing when—
"Tell Makarov he's going to get it next time I see him!" The two fully grown mages turned tail and ran into the woods at top speed.
~.~
"How much further? Will we need to camp for the night?"
"Nah, she's close. Seems to have stopped running for a bit. We'll catch up pretty soon."
The trees had grown much closer together, and the afternoon shadows had begun to get longer. Laxus and Gajeel had made excellent time, but they both secretly wished they could have gone a bit slower. Neither of them was looking forward to the encounter with this girl. Sure, they had been through some shit, but they had dealt with it and put it behind them. Dragging it up like this was not going to be pleasant.
~.~
Naomi had walked many miles, growing slower and slower. In the back of her mind, he kept getting closer and closer. Keeping him at bay was getting more and more difficult. She had to try again. Maybe this time.
She stumbled, and realized that her foot had hit stone. Looking up, she saw that she had found the ruins of an old temple. The walls only came up halfway, and moss covered the majority of the stonework. She walked towards the center, and stopped. In the middle of the room, there was a partially eroded picture of the sun, its rays spanning throughout the temple, the flagstones oriented around it. Naomi knelt down, ran her fingers around the edge of the circle, and sighed. Ages ago, there were people here, who worshiped warmth and light, the kind that gives life. When she had studied and learned to control her magic, Naomi had loved the beautiful dichotomy of order and chaos that came with it, the balance between life and death, give and take. But now…she returned her hand to her side. Now she was an instrument of destruction.
There was no self-pity in her face. She never looked for compassion in herself or others, as she had ceased to expect it long ago. She sat down, and stared at the ground.
~.~
The trees had begun to thin a little, and Laxus pressed forward, jogging a little ahead. He could hear Gajeel speeding up behind him, and slowed down.
"You want something?"
"Stop, idiot. She's close." Laxus slowed to a walk, and the two men edged forward. There was a break in the trees, and they could see the temple ruins.
"She's in there?"
"Yeah. Damn, I wish we could see from here." Gajeel crouched, preparing to spring forward. Laxus held out a hand.
"Remember what we're here for." Gajeel grimaced and straightened up. Together, they walked toward the temple.
They reached the entrance at the same time, and both stood in what used to be the doorway. Facing them was the girl, sitting cross-legged and staring at the ground. They froze, then relaxed and took one more step forward, seeing she had her eyes closed and wasn't preparing to attack. Gajeel took in the scene. This Naomi was decent enough to look at, not his type, but he could appreciate her finer points from a distance. She was heavily armed, the old man had said she barely used her magic when she fought Natsu and the other brats. He folded his arms, and glanced at Laxus.
Laxus could feel her magic simmering in the air, and she didn't seem to be making the slightest effort. He looked hard and long at her, studying her, trying to learn what made her so powerful. Her eyes were closed, but her pale face still looked sad from what he could see of it, partly concealed as it was by her messily pulled up hair. Her arms lay limp over her lap. He folded his arms, glancing back at Gajeel. He nodded and spoke first.
"Naomi?"
Her eyes flew open, and her body tensed as she slowly moved to a crouch. Both men unfolded their arms as she put her hand on the hilt of the katana.
"What do you want?" Her voice was demanding, but strained.
"The old man from Fairy Tail sent us." Said Gajeel, cautiously.
"Makarov." Said Naomi. "What does he want with me? I didn't want to hurt his people—your people. Please leave." She sounded slightly panicky, and her words were coming out forced.
"Hey, we just want to talk," said Laxus, his palms instinctively facing out. "Yeah, you messed up, but the master is really into second chances. He wants us to help you—"
"Help?!" Naomi's voice cracked out. "There is no help for me—" but she cut herself off, and her voice changed, her face contorting as it did. "Help from Makarov's grandson, the one who threw everything back in his face?" Laxus said nothing.
"And Gajeel Redfox, who brutally abused Makarov's 'children', and destroyed their guild hall? Ha! The old bastard really is into second chances." Her twisted face stared out, then became confused. Gajeel was smiling. Showing his fangs, he grinned fiercely.
"That's right, girlie. We're the bad guys of the guild. Have as much fun poking in our heads as you want. We don't mind." Naomi tensed, and she sprang forward, almost imperceptibly unsheathing her katana. She looked deep into his eyes as Gajeel's Iron Dragon Sword stopped her short. Gajeel chuckled, then shoved her off. She let herself fly through the air, and landed gracefully on her feet. Laxus stepped forward.
"Whatever's in there, come out. We don't mind keeping this body busy 'till you're too tired to keep going—" he stopped short. Naomi's face had cleared, but it was streaked with tears.
"Please get back," she whispered. "I have to try again. Run!"
"We're not going anywh—" began Laxus. He paused. He could feel the heat withdrawing, being sucked towards Naomi. He whipped his head around to look at Gajeel, who was frowning.
"Get down!" He yelled, just as a ball of flame began to form around Naomi. He and Gajeel fell flat, bracing themselves.
The fire ball began to expand, and Naomi was sweating with the effort. She looked like she was trying to shove something away with all of her might. A thin cry was audible. There was a long pause, the two mages watching the girl with a ball of fire inside her, her stance wide, her arms at her sides, fists balled tight. Suddenly, she exploded. Her arms shot out, and she screamed as fire flew in all directions. The two men could see the intense pain written all over her face as fire shot out of her mouth. They gaped as they watched a dark cloud-like figure slowly leak out of her. Whatever she was doing seemed to work.
Then, the figure wrapped threads of shadow around her, pulling itself back in. She was fighting hard, but it wasn't enough. Laxus and Gajeel watched in horror as the creature slowly crawled back into her mouth, and the fire disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Everything went quiet. Naomi swayed, then righted herself. The two wizards stood slowly up.
"He's still here." She said quietly. Her voice ached with sadness. Laxus stepped closer.
"Let us help you—"
"No! Leave me alone!"
"Shut up and listen!" shouted Laxus. Naomi stared. "You're close. Whoever he is, you're close to getting him out. If I could get close, I could add to your power. Take him out together." Gajeel stared at him.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? She could roast you."
"Yeah, she could. But like gramps said, she could be an asset."
While the two were talking, Naomi had shifted again. By the time they were aware of her again, she had slipped closer. Looking Gajeel straight in the face, she said,
"Levy. That's it." Gajeel froze.
"Gajeel…" said Laxus warningly.
"She's your reason for everything. She is your everything." Naomi began to laugh, a horrible, twisted laugh. "But you branded her and hung her out to dry. Marked your property, that's for sure." She kept laughing, and Gajeel's face had turned white.
"One more word, bitch."
"Gajeel!" Laxus had grabbed his arm, but Gajeel moved away and towards the girl. There was a pause, then:
"No wonder she doesn't want you, breaking her like a twig—"
Gajeel roared, his scales covering his body as he threw himself at Naomi. She parried his every move, but slowed down as his rage tore through her katana, knives, and dao swords. Finally, she opened her mouth.
Laxus knew that holding Gajeel back was useless. He wasn't going to let her go until she beat him down.
The girl shoved Gajeel away and screamed. Pure energy and fire engulfed him completely. When everything died away, there was nothing but a track of ash. She shook her head, covering her mouth. Suddenly she stiffened and turned.
Laxus, who had darted forward and pulled Gajeel away, was trying to talk him down.
"Calm the fuck down, Gajeel! She's not doing it, it's not her fault!"
"Someone needs to shut that goddamn mouth of hers, it may as well be me!"
"Gajeel! Now is not the time!" Laxus looked up and saw Naomi staring at them. Her hands were at her sides now, and she was backing away.
"Look at her face! Now!" Gajeel glared up. "That is not who talked to you. That's…a completely different person!" Gajeel's breathing began to calm. "Get your head out of your ass and focus!" Laxus let him shove away, walking away to the edge of the temple. Laxus turned to the girl.
"Naomi. Let's do this." She nodded, but her face changed again and she charged, swinging a leg wreathed in flames at Laxus. He ducked under, swinging at her, but she had turned, and blocked with her arms. Their faces close, she whispered,
"Why, Laxus? Why don't you have a weakness? Not your grandfather, not your father? Where's your heart?"
"If I still have one, it's with Fairy Tail," he answered. And he shoved her up and away, pushing himself up from the floor with an electrical charge. She answered by grabbing his hand, flipping, and bringing him back down. Again at a stalemate, her face changed and she said,
"Please. Do it now, Laxus." And she let go of his hand, and formed the internal fireball again. It was harder this time, and Laxus put his hands on her shoulders and added his magic energy to it. She responded and grabbed his arms. Sparks flew around them, and, feeling the explosion welling up, they shouted,
"Gajeel! MOVE!"
Everything shot out. Lightning and fire combined into something akin to a nuclear explosion. Naomi was screaming again, and Laxus could feel her pain. Suddenly he felt an even greater pressure, and he yelled as if his lungs would burst. He saw the creature slowly leak out, and wrap its tentacles around her again.
"Fight it! Fight it! Don't let it in! It doesn't belong there! Make it stop!"
And he pushed and fought with her. Painfully slowly, the tentacles began to break. The last one was still dangling, and Laxus could feel that she was nearly spent. In a last ditch effort, he screamed,
"Lightning Dragon ROAR!" And with that, the last strand broke and the creature faded away into the sunset. The explosion died down, and Laxus could see that they had burned everything around them for several miles. He smirked, but felt Naomi's knees buckle, and she fell. Barely catching her, it was clear she needed to get back to the guild where Wendy could take care of her. Picking her up, he turned to face Gajeel, who was peeking out from behind a wall.
"Are you done? Took you long enough." Gajeel growled.
"Yeah. Let's go." Replied Laxus shortly.
"In case you're wondering, I ain't gonna hold a grudge." Laxus turned, raising an eyebrow. "I really don't wanna get charred to pieces by that witch."
Laxus' lip twitched, and he and Gajeel turned towards home.
