Oh look I decided on the course of action (and I'm sticking with it, dammit. I'm forcing myself to post this so I stop writing multiple alternate paths in my head every night only to fucking forget them because "oh of course I don't need to write them down, I'll remember!" but no, that's a lie, and never believe yourself if you say it.)
Chapter 12 - Mira (or, "Levy Nopes the Fuck Outta There")
"Do you think someone could have snuck in and taken it?" Levy suggests. Mira shrugs helplessly, trying to stay calm despite the extremely bare safe under the bar counter. Everyone was very hungover, so finding out the guild's front safe had been robbed was not exactly the best way to wake up.
"Hey Lisanna?" Mira calls to her sister, whose head was face down on the counter. She grunts in acknowledgement. "Since none of the dragonslayers are here, would you mind checking for any scent trails?" She asked hopefully. LIsanna shivered but raised her head.
"I can try, I guess." She hedges, standing up reluctantly. She activates her Animal Soul Dog and pads over to the safe on her white paws. She sniffs delicately at the safe for a minute while everyone watches. Her ear twitches and she presses her nose to the ground, sniffing along the floor away from the safe and towards the back door to the alley outside. She checks around the door and sits on her haunches, rearing up to awkwardly work the doorknob with her thumbless paws. The door swings open and she heads outside, the sun blinding everyone in range. She groans and collapses, holding her head in her paws.
"'S too bright, sis," she whines, her ears flat. Her Animal Soul cancels and she stumbles back inside. Mira looks at her hopefully, and she shrugs. "There's an unknown scent trail leading out the door, but it seems to disappear outside. Natsu probably could find it better, but oh well," she mumbles, half-asleep before sitting down in the closest booth and curling up on the chair. Mira sighs.
"Thanks, Lis." She ponders for a moment, rubbing her temples before perking up. "Oh yeah! I forgot! I installed a surveillance lacrima in the alley, just in case," she remembers aloud. "Let's go check it."
The group of hungover mages (Lisanna, Juvia, Levy, and Cana) followed Mira into one of the rooms behind the bar to a lacrima-vision. With a few buttons, the group began to review the surveillance footage from the night before.
Lucy POV
As I approached the guild, I was suddenly hit with a sudden, icy feeling of dread. I looked around, but seeing nothing, hesitantly entered the guild. Laxus had decided to make his way to the guild a good five minutes after me, so I reassured myself that everything must be fine. I waved at Jet and Droy, noting the lack of both Levy and Gajeel. I make my way over to the pair.
"Hey, you guys seen Levy or Gajeel?" I asked, ignoring the thankfully dulled throb of pain in my skull. Jet groaned miserably and cradled his head before slumping over in his seat. Droy looked at him with sympathy before answering.
"Haven't seen Gajeel, but Levy went with Mira and a few others to check surveillance footage from last night. I guess we got robbed, so they're trying to track down the culprit. She bolted out of here at top speed like a half hour ago, though, " Droy offered helpfully. Jet nodded in agreement. That same icy spike of dread shot through me and I paused, rethinking over what was just said.
"Did…Did you say, surveillance footage?" I ask, my voice small. A wave of cold sweat and apprehension runs over me. Droy nodded.
"Yea, I guess Mira set up a surveillance lacrima in the alley out back-" my heart drops into my stomach, "-last week after there were some scuffles or something." He finished. My eyes are so wide and unblinking they're starting to hurt. Droy notices my expression and raises his eyebrows. "Something wrong?"
"Where is the footage?" I ask softly, voice quavering. Droy nods towards the bar.
"Probably still with them in the back room."
Levy's POV
My jaw drops as soon as I see Laxus and Lucy enter the frame. I already know what's coming, but through all the calculations I've just run through, there's nothing I can do at this point. The nail in the coffin has been set. Cana whistles.
"Oh this is gonna be hot," she snickers. Lisanna's face pales in recognition.
"Oh no," she breathes.
We're all frozen as we watch Laxus immediately pin Lucy to the wall, and Lucy reaches up to pull his face to hers. Mira gasps, eyes wide, and Juvia lets out a squeak. The man on the screen reaches down and hitches my best friend's leg up around his waist and we learn that the lacrima includes audio. I glance around the room - Mira sits stunned, Juvia's jaw dropping to the floor. Cana is leering and Lisanna is darting a terrified gaze between the screen and her sister.
"I want you so bad," Lucy's moan coming from the speakers pulls my attention back and I take a step back. Shit, what do I do? It's too late to stop it…
Mira slowly turns her head to stare at Cana, who starts to shrink once she notices the demonic stare. "What. Do. You. Know?" Mira demands lowly. Both Cana and Lisanna back up with hands raised.
The Lucy on the screen is already undoing Laxus' pants while he pulls out… Oh great. He just pulled a condom out of his pocket. Mira stands up and grabs Cana by the arm in one hand and Lisanna in the other. On the screen, Laxus sheathes himself inside of Lucy with a lewd moan and makes my ears burn. Sorry, Lu, but NOPE NOPE NOPE.
My survival instincts kick in and I spin around and bolt out of the room.
I collide with Gajeel just outside of the front doors and I just grab his hand and pull him with me. There is about to be a shitstorm in there.
Lucy POV
MY legs carry me swiftly to the bar, vaulting over the counter and ignoring the knocked over glasses. Oh shit oh shit OH SHIT.
I heard the sound of a threatening Mira, as well as the terrified mutters of LIsanna and Cana. My heart is pounding in my ears as I round the corner to the surveillance room. It then stops and sinks.
Cana and Lisanna look at me wildly, pleading and guilty looks on their faces. Oh, and they're tied up with ropes.
"We're so sorry, Lu! She's too scary!" Cana squeaks. I dart a look at the screen to see…
Yup. That's me and Laxus. It was paused, but it was very, very clearly myself and Laxus in mid-coitus. And of all the nights for him to not wear his coat… For fuck sakes our hanky panky is in full and complete view!
"Oh good, you're here. I've got a few questions," Mira says in a deceptively sweet voice, an undercurrent of malice giving her away.
"no no no no no" I murmer, making for the screen and desperately hitting buttons. Mira slowly turns to me and the amount of evil energy pouring off her sets my hair on end. I chance a look to see the darkly glowing Mira with blazing eyes and her Satan soul scar cracking its way down the side of her face. I frantically hit more buttons. Of course, I'm lucky enough to have hit the most horrible combination possible and suddenly the scene had rewound and resumed far enough for things to get really embarrassing.
"Yes, baby… I love it when you slam your delicious cock inside of me…"
OH MY FUCKING GOD.
"Damn, girl," Cana grins. I shriek and slam all the buttons I can, causing the scene to rewind a few times, leading to the audio repeating the words "delicious cock" over and over until finally, FINALLY, I at least found the mute button.
"Lucy," Mira growls menacingly. My hand shoots to my keys.
"VIRGO! SMASH!" I screeched, feeling a surge of relief as the taciturn maid appeared in a shower of golden sparkles and smashes the viewing lacrima instantly, landing with a flourish. Mira growled, and I looked back to see her slowly advancing, vein twitching. In hindsight, smashing the most likely expensive surveillance equipment probably wasn't the best way of dealing with the situation. I gulped, waves of cold sweat running over my body. I make a split second decision. "Virgo! Dig a hole!" I squawk. Virgo nods, then spins in a blur, digging a hole for me to hop down.
"LUCY!" Mira shouts in aggravation, appearing at the edge to glare down at me.
"What's going on?" Laxus' arrival seals our fate as he steps into the room, freezing at the view of the wrecked room and tied up guildmates. Cana and Lisanna looked at Laxus helplessly. Mira turns to lock her gaze on him.
"RUN, LAXUS!" I scream in warning, a split second before Mira transforms into her Satan Soul and launches herself at him.
I hear a crash and a startled yelp. I look at Virgo with wide eyes. "Toss me back up!" I fret. She nods, expression as unchanging as always while she picks me up and tosses me out of the hole where I land unsteadily. Without thought I race through the new hole in the wall into the Beer Hall. Mira hovered in front of Laxus menacingly, her magic sparking off her skin. Laxus had his hands held up in caution, but his expression was hard.
"Mira, listen." He begins. "I can explain," He starts, voice strong, but slightly annoyed. Mira hisses and I run up to her to grab her wrist, flinching at the shock of dark magic that skitters up my arm at the contact.
"Mira! It's… it's…." I begin, mind working frantically. "We're a couple!" I blurt. She snorts.
"Y'know, I kind of figured that much out," she says drily, smirking a little, but holding her glare. I sweatdrop.
"I – I mean-" I stutter. Laxus huffs.
"She's my mate," he deadpans, clearly fed up. He turns around and looks at everyone in the guild hall. "Hear that, everyone? Lucy Heartfilia is my mate. She's my woman, and if anyone has any problems with that, you can go fuck yourself," he announces flatly, an exasperated look on his face. The hall had filled up a bit more over the course of the altercation, so most everyone was present now.
Mira stalls for a moment before trembling even more.
"Are you telling me…" she snarls, landing and taking a step towards Laxus. "That you and Lucy are mates…" she continues. "And you. Didn't. TELL ME?!" she screeches pouncing on Laxus and smacking him across the face.
"Wait – what?!" he asks, bewildered. Seriously, though. What? Mira continues to smack him.
"I. Have. Waited. So. Fucking. Long." She punctuates each word with another loud, impossibly quick strike, causing Laxus to backpedal in his bewilderment. "For. You. To. Grow. Up. And. Find. A. Woman," She continues, and I can do nothing but watch this strange scene unfold. "And. You. Didn't. Tell. Me. You. Got. A. MATE?!" She ends with a kick that send Laxus flying backwards. He recovers mid air and lands gracefully, eyebrows raised.
"That's what you're pissed about?!" he questions in disbelief. Mira huffs.
"No shit, that's why! You were supposed to tell me when you finally got a serious relationship!" she steams, stamping her foot. Her shoulders slump and she turns to me with wide, watery eyes and a quivering lip. "And why wouldn't you tell me, Lucy?" she whimpers. The sight of her facial expression on her Satan Soul throws me off for a moment and all I can do is stammer uncertainly.
"I'm… I'm sorry?" I apologize awkwardly, scratching the back of my head. Her Takeover drops and she pulls me and Laxus into a tight hug, sobbing. My mind reels at the sudden mood change.
"I'm… I'm so happy for you guys!" she wails. Crushing us closer with surprising strength. She sniffles before loosening her hold and letting us go. "But I'm still mad at you!" she scolds, wagging her finger at us. "Well… mostly Lucy," she amends and I start to sweat. She narrows her eyes at me. "Was it really necessary to smash all that equipment and dig a big hole in the floor?"
"Oh uh… yea… sorry…" I murmer, still a little bit in shock. Mira crosses her arms.
"I'll let it go this time. And I'll let the whole hanky-panky at the guild part slide as well. But don't do it again!" she demands. Laxus looks at me with a raised eyebrow and my face heats up when I remember how this situation started. There's a short silence before Laxus drapes his arm around me, and everyone in the hall cheers, along with a few catcalls. Mira claps her hands together and squeal excitedly.
"Oh I can just see it now! Little blonde lightning babies!" she croons, eyes turning into hearts as she drifts off into her fantasy land full of babies. I allow myself a smile and glance up at the large blonde holding me close. He leans down and presses a light kiss to my forehead.
"We probably should've just told them right away," he whispers. I playfully smack his chest.
The doors open and I glance around Laxus to see…
A painfully familiar head of scarlet hair. I stiffen.
Fuck.
Coming up next: Erza! Because who else has scarlet hair and is relevant to the plot?
On a side note, Finding Dory was absolutely fucking fantastic. And it took a lot of willpower, but I managed to make it through without punching the annoying little fuckface kids sitting near me who felt the need to remind their parent EVERY SINGLE THING THAT HAPPENED in Finding Nemo, in detail, WHILE THE BEAUTIFUL SEQUEL WAS PLAYING. FUCK. DON'T YOU BASTARDS KNOW THIS MOVIE IS FOR US 90'S BABIES?!
But yea, 10/10, totally going to see it again sometime soon. (Pro tip: stay til the end of the credits. You're welcome.)