Incoming novel of an Author's Note -
So sorry about the wait. Literally the morning after posting the previous chapter I got to find out through a facebook status update that I was no longer in a relationship. My "lover" (it was complicated, we weren't using official titles) apparently forgot to break up with me before starting a relationship with another woman. You could say I was cheated on, I suppose. I don't wish to bore you all with the literal novel that is our little love story (that spans about 14 years, which is over half our lives) but basically I'm super fucking depressed because the idiot broke my heart for the millionth time, this time literally out of nowhere with no warning. Like, last we had talked, we were still saying "I love you" to each other, and talking about how we were going to try a serious relationship again, blah blah, him confessing his undying love and all that shit. And then I open up facebook one day and BAM "Mr. Fuckface is in a relationship with [woman who is not me]".
I was the Winry to his Edward. The Mikasa to his Eren. It could even be argued that I was the Erza to his Jellal, although he never tried to kill me and resurrect an evil lord, he just fell into a spiral of drug addiction and alcoholism that I had to pull him out of (same thing, right?). And that fucker tossed me away like complete trash, after I went through hell for him. Fourteen fucking years of friendship, six of which being a couple, and the bastard has the gall to pull this shit. And he didn't even have the common decency to end things with me first, he let facebook inform me. FUCKING FACEBOOK. LIKE, EVEN JUST A TEXT THAT SAYS "Hey we're breaking up" WOULD BE BETTER THAN THAT. Immature little fuckboi.
So yea, between obsessively playing Pokemon Go to distract myself from the pain during the day and drinking myself to sleep every night, I haven't been able to bring myself to post anything. Usually I obsessively read through and edit each chapter about three times before posting, but I don't have the motivation to do any more than copy and paste this one.
TL;DR - I got my heart ripped out by an idiot, and I've been too depressed to do much of anything.
Disclaimer: blah blah doesn't belong to me blah blah fuck you.
CHapter 15 - Lightning Man (or, I'm Too Fucking Depressed To Think Of A Title)
Blondie had left on her special mission earlier today, and I was brooding at the bar. I know it's stupid, but I'm always so agitated when I'm away from her. Especially when she goes on missions with that powder keg of a team she has. I sip on my scotch, letting the warmth numb the feelings of loneliness and paranoia. Freed approaches me and gestures to Mira, asking for a glass of red wine. I snort. He's such a nerd.
"Laxus-sama, there's a job posted that's specifically requesting us," he says, sliding the flyer in front of me. I look over it and grunt.
"That place sounds kinda familiar." I mumble, trying to figure out where I remember it from. I read the rest – the town is being plagued by excessive lightning strikes. Seems simple enough. I guess I can see why they'd ask for me. I pass it off to Mira as she hands off Freed's wine. "We'll take it. Let's leave tomorrow," I decide. The distraction should help. And if nothing else, I'm guaranteed a hearty snack or two. There haven't been any lightning storms in Magnolia for a few weeks. I finish off my scotch and toss down the jewels necessary, nodding towards Freed. "Meet up at the train station tomorrow at nine." I say, making my way out of the guild hall sulkily.
After a train ride that was just as uncomfortable for me as it always is (although the pills Wendy made for us slayers certainly help), we end up having to walk the remaining couple miles to the town, since no one wanted to take us near it due to the lightning. And when we got there, I could see why. The entire town was charged with static electricity, making our hairs stand on end.
"Damn, bossman. This place is really giving me some red flags here," Bickslow says nervously, rubbing at his neck.
"Red Flags! Red Flags!" his totems chirp in agreement, hovering nervously around his shoulders. I smell the strike before it happens, and gracefully absorb the bolt of lightning that rips from the sky towards us. Evergreen and Bickslow shriek in surprise, Freed falling into a defensive stance. A few more strikes hit around the town in various places.
"Well, that explains the static," Evergreen comments shakily, adjusting her glasses. I nod, but sniff at the air. The atmosphere is so charged I can almost eat the lightning just from the air around me. We try to make our way through the town towards the town hall, thankfully noting the lack of townspeople, though the occasional face visible through windows assure us that the place is inhabited. A few strikes later and Evergreen speaks up.
"Are you sure you can handle this, Laxus? This is an awful lot of lightning, even for you…" she worries aloud. I scoff and absorb another bolt of lightning. But another one sneaks past me and strikes her, making her let out a shriek. I feel rage well up inside of me. No one hurts my team and gets away with it. Not even forces of nature.
"Lightning Dragon's… ROAR!" I bellow, firing it towards the sky where it manages to clear the storm clouds. Freed and Bickslow help Evergreen to her feet where she shakily regains her composure.
"Th-Thanks for that Lightning protection enchantment, Freed," she mutters. Freed nods and looks around.
"Laxus-sama, we should hurry to the Mayor's place. It doesn't look like the storm will stay away for long." He warns. The sounds of cheerful people start as people hesitantly come out of their homes.
"Hey! That's Laxus Dreyer! From Fairy Tail!" someone shouts, and to my displeasure, a crowd gathers around us.
"Thanks so much, Mr. Laxus!" someone says, and I look around uncomfortably, crossing my arms. I smirk, enjoying the praise, and trying to tamp down my desire to leave the shrieking crowd. Luckily, my team takes pity on me, and expertly goes about satisfying the crowd – answering questions, posing for pictures, signing autographs, all the usual stuff. I sign a few things, but keep an eye on the clouds. It'll probably only be another hour until they come back.
"Our apologies, everyone, but this is only a temporary fix to your lightning problem. We assure you we will be working to fix it permanently, but for now, the storm will most likely return within the hour," Freed announces to the crowd. They take it surprisingly well, and while they look dejected, they make sure to thank us for at least giving them a bit of time to leave their homes safely. I make my way through the slowly dispersing crowd and catch one woman's eye who's glaring at me. A man next to her is sneering at me as well, pulling her away and throwing an arm around her possessively. Huh. They seem somewhat familiar. I shrug off the feeling and we continue on to the client's house.
My mood was effectively soured. I also felt more than a little bit guilty. I think back again to the incident the Mayor claims started the town's problems – the incident in which I caused it all.
It was a month or so ago, and I was heading back from a solo job. I was going to have to spend the night in town, since the trains weren't running that late. I had hoped to make it back that night so I could slip into bed with Blondie, but unfortunately, it just seemed to not be in the cards. It was late, and I decided to head to the bar and have a few drinks before going to bed.
A few drinks in, I was starting to get irritated by the women pestering me. I had turned away a handful already, and every new woman just soured my mood more. Couldn't they see I was completely uninterested? Well, at least it proves that Lucy doesn't ever have to worry about me being unfaithful – this whole "mate" thing has me seeing every woman in the world other than her to be about as sexually attractive as a rock. Not only that, but the more persistent women, regardless of looks, were downright repulsive to me. One woman, a brown-haired beauty by the name of "Rhonda" (I think. I wasn't really paying attention to her), was extra persistent. I tried to be patient with my rejections, but my civility was worn thin. She draped herself around me and I stiffened, growling threateningly.
"Get off of me," I growled. She giggles in what I'm sure was meant to be suggestive. "I happen to have a girlfriend." I tried, feeling irritated at having to say that I'm already 'claimed' just to get her to back off. Is this what it feels like to be a woman getting hit on in a bar? Damn, this is pretty fucking awful.
"Aw. Don't be that way," she cooed in my ear. "You're such a handsome man… certainly a man like you could use a beautiful woman in his bed?" she continued. My skin crawls in disgust. My fist clenched and I stamp down my instinctual reaction to rip her head off. Calm down, Laxus. There is no situation in which you harming this woman will not come out to make you the bad guy. With stiff movements, I peel her off of me.
"How fucking dense are you? I'm. Not. Interested," I snapped. She placed the hand on my thigh and leaned in close.
"I'm not sure I believe you, Handsome," she purred. My inner Dragon roared in disgust at this other woman touching me. "And I don't see your girlfriend here. She doesn't have to know…" I grabbed her shoulder and forcibly shoved her away from me, sneering at her. She looked at me in shock, which then morphed into fury and outrage. "What's wrong with you? Are you gay or something?!" she demanded angrily. I laughed humorlessly.
"Oh I'm definitely not gay. I just happen to find you repulsive. So get the fuck out of here, stupid cunt," I snarled. Admittedly, I probably went too far. But goddammit she was not getting the hint! She gasped in outrage and stomped away finally. I turned back to the bar and catch the raised eyebrow of the bartender. I signaled for another whiskey. "I have a gorgeous, sexy-as-sin girlfriend that puts her to shame," I explained to him. It felt odd to refer to Blondie as my girlfriend - it didn't seem like a title that adequately captures what she means to me. That thought makes me bristle inwardly – we weren't actually a couple after all, just… fuckbuddies. And she happened to be my mate. Well, I'm fucked. He smirked knowingly and nodded in understanding, sliding the fresh whiskey in front of me, breaking my irritated train of thought.
A few more drinks later, I started to make the trek home, humming to myself and taking long swigs from the bottle of beer I procured for the walk home. When I got to the fountain, I stopped, noticing the presence of other people. A group of rugged tough guys fanned out in front of me, some cracking knuckles. One, the leader I would assume, stepped forward and sneered at me.
"Hey asshole. My girl tells me you were rude to her tonight," he grunted accusingly. I cocked an eyebrow.
"I was rude to a lot of people tonight. You'll have t'be more specific," I drawled. He clenched his fist tighter in anger.
"I heard you called my girl repulsive and laid your fucking hands on her!" he yelled. "Where do you get off touching another man's woman, ya fucker?!" he commanded, the smell of liquor on his breath alerting me to his inebriation. I laughed harshly.
"You talking bout that skank? Uh… 'Rhonda' or some shit?" I laughed, smirking at his rising fury. HE steps forward and points at me.
"DON'T CALL MY GIRL A SKANK, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" he roared. I just laughed more, Finishing off my bottle of booze.
"Sorry, mate. But your girl's a skank," I said. He might be an asshole, but it's just bro-code to let another man know if his girl's foolin' around behind his back. "Bitch was all over me, and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer," I continued. "I only shoved her away and called her repulsive cause the stupid cunt wasn't taking the fucking hint," I explained, holding my hands up diplomatically. The leader's eyes narrowed.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" he roared, charging at me with a knife he pulled from his shirt. I effortlessly grabbed his face and shoved him back. He stumbled to the ground. I cracked my neck.
"I'll give you a warning, mate. Fuck off now, or I'll fry you to a crisp," I warned dangerously, letting my lightning skitter across my body threateningly. A couple of the other thugs hesitated and looked at each other nervously. But they were just as drunk as me – if not drunker. The leader scrabbled to his feet.
"FUCK YOU!" he roared, charging again, this time his buddies joining him. I sighed in resignation. I guess I have to take them out.
My magic flared and called down lightning from the sky before arcing outwards and hitting my attackers. They all shrieked in pain and terror before getting knocked out, their twitching bodies hitting the ground with thuds. I grunted in annoyance and continued on my way toward the inn, letting the steaming bodies lie on the ground. Assholes.
And that brings us back to the present, where I remember who those two people were – Rhonda and her sucker of a guy. Looks like she still has him strung along. If he wasn't such a short-tempered bastard I'd feel sorry for him.
Apparently, my magic had somehow charged the entire town with electricity – causing the never-ending, dangerous lightning storm. I crossed my arms, walking next to Freed and trying to ignore the guilty feeling in my gut. A phenomenon like this had never happened before to my knowledge… but then again, I was really, really drunk. I can't be sure just how much magic I released. I've never had a situation like that before – usually people back off when I show off my magic, and that's on the off-chance they don't recognize me and realize not to fuck with me. And the few times they persisted, I hadn't been drunk. Regardless, I need to fix this.
My magic pulls me back to town and we hurry to find –
Lightning…monsters?
The lightning took the form of snarling creatures that pounced on us immediately. Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen charge into battle, dodging lightning strikes and slowly dispatching the seemingly never ending horde of creatures. I defeat creature after creature, absorbing every bit of lightning that comes towards us.
"Shit, Boss, what if you get overloaded?! This is more electricity then you've ever taken at once," Bickslow shouts, dodging another bolt. I grunt, but the doubt does set in. He's right – I can feel myself reaching capacity. I grit my teeth and bear it. This is my fault anyways. Finally, Freed gets a plan.
"Laxus-sama! The lightning is coming from below! Over there!" he shouts out, pointing at the fountain in the middle of town with his sword. I note the familiarity.
"That's where I was when I used my magic last time," I grunt to no one in particular. "Evergreen! Bicks! Hold them off for a while longer!" I call out, the respective mages nodding seriously. "Freed! We gotta get underground!"
Freed hops away from his altercation and spot a sewer entrance, gesturing for me. We hurry towards it and jump down, landing in the ankle deep water. Freed writes some runes on his sword to make it illuminate our surroundings and we look around. "Gotta get under the fountain," I grunt, heading off in a direction. Freed catches my shoulder.
"Uh, that leads away from it, Laxus-sama…" he mutters. I avert my eyes and spin on my heel to head the opposite way. Freed sweatdrops behind me before hurrying to catch up. Luckily it doesn't take long to find our destination. I stop in surprise. Before us lies a core made of lightning. Or more specifically, my lightning. Freed examines it while I circle it curiously.
"I'm not completely sure what this is…" Freed mutters. The sounds of fighting and thunder above ground remind us of our time constraints.
"Stand back, Freed," I order. He looks up in surprise, taking in my determined expression. "This is my lightning, so I'll try and neutralize it." I explain, gathering my lightning around me. Freed hops to his feet.
"Wait, hold on a second-" he stutters. I shake my head.
"There's no time, Freed," I say grimly. I begin channeling my lightning and fire it into the core, causing the ground to shake. I pump more and more power into it until… finally…
It explodes.
My ears ring painfully, my body hunched and kneeling on the ground. The smoke slowly clears to show Freed standing next to me with a series of glowing runes surrounding us. He glares at me.
"Laxus! What I was trying to say, was to let me set up a shield! Goddammit! I barely made it in time!" He pants angrily. I eye him in surprise. It's not often he loses his cool. He blows out a puff of air to push his hair back in place and he huffs. I look at him apologetically and shrug. He looks back to where the core was and gasps. "Strange. There's a lacrima here." He mutters to himself, sheathing his sword and approaching it to study it. I rise to my feet and stretch my muscles, cracking my neck and regaining my composure. I look over Freed's shoulder at the lacrima – but I have no idea what I'm looking for, so I decide to look around the area instead.
"I think this was set up here on purpose," Freed hums to himself. I turn to look at him in surprise. He stands up and nods. "It looks like you were set up, Laxus-sama," he growls, anger rising in his usually taciturn expression. The suggestion brings rage to me as well, but I push it away for now.
"Let's make sure Ever and Bicks are alright," I sigh.
We met up with a battered Evergreen and Bickslow above ground, the two greeting us with relieved smiles. I grunted, trying and most likely failing at keeping my relief from showing too much. Freed shares his suspicions and the other two agree. One of Bickslow's babies fly up to him from the distance. He talks with it for a moment and gasps.
"You're right. I had Pippa stay back and spy on the mayor. It was a set up the whole time – It's a scam to demand money from the guild," he translates angrily. Evergreen huffs.
"That little… Ugh!" Evergreen growls. "I should turn the little bastard to stone," she mutters. Bickslow nods.
"I agree. We gotta do something," he says, crossing his arms. I turn around wordlessly and march towards the Mayor's mansion. He wants lightning? Well he can have some fucking lightning.
I call down lightning upon the mansion, roaring in outrage. How dare that little fucker try to con my family?! I lob bolt after bolt against the walls of the mansion – not quite enough to really do damage (Mavis knows I could disintegrate the thing in a matter of seconds), but enough to scare the living shit out the little piss ant. I lock eyes with him when his fearful face looks out his window, smirking triumphantly when his scared face goes even whiter. I launch myself up towards the window and smash through the wall, letting electricity arc around the room amidst the terrified screams. I pause however at the sight.
The mayor, while terrified out of his mind, stood in front of his granddaughter, arms outstretched in an attempt to protect her. Both look at me in terror. I straighten up and let the lightning simmer down.
The man reeks of fear and terror – he even pissed his pants. And yet… he's throwing himself in front of his granddaughter. Even in his absolute terror, he's risking his life for his family. The sight calms my rage enough to pull my lightning back. I maintain a hard glare.
"Never try this shit again," I growl menacingly, both terrified people nodding fearfully. I turn to leave, exhausted and irritated with everything. "Try to make a fucking effort on behalf of your town next time, you piece of shit," I bark over my shoulder. "You're the fucking Mayor. Act like it and take responsibility for your town."
The mayor whimpers but nods in agreement, sobbing out his thanks for sparing them. I scoff. "Don't fuck with me, or Fairy Tail, ever again."
With that, I jump back out of the ruined wall and land next to my team. Ever and Bicks appraise the damage to the mansion appreciatively.
"Not quite as much damage as I hoped, but it'll do," Evergreen muses sadistically. On our way through the town, the townspeople came back out to cheer. We waved in acknowledgement, Bickslow being his usual sociable self and mingling along his way. We almost made it out of town with no more complications. Almost.
"Hey fucker! You don't get to leave 'til you apologize to Rhonda!" a voice bellows behind us. We stop and I sigh in irritation, turning around and glaring at the group of shifty-eyed thugs.
"I don't have the patience for this shit, so you would do well to listen to me," I begin coldly, my tone halting their approach and causing hesitation. "I am an S-Class mage for Fairy Tail. I have proven not only just now but in the Grand Magic Games just how powerful I am. I was able to defeat Jura – one of the strongest of the wizard saints," I slowly list off. Most of the henchmen pull back, and even the leader looks uncertain. Rhonda continues to glare hatefully at me, though. "I don't even have to try, and I can kill you with my pinky. All that being said, I feel the need to inform you, mate, that I was telling the truth last time," I continue, shooting a disgusted look at Rhonda. "Your girl tried to seduce me. Persistently. I had to physically remove her from my space before she stopped." At this, the leader looked over at her suspiciously. She started to shake in rage. "So she's really not faithful to you, bro. And here's one last thing – You guys know Lucy Heartfilia?" I ask, smirking. "You know, the blonde bombshell? Fairy Tail's incredible celestial mage? Sexy as sin, the body of a goddess and the face of an angel?" I describe, smirking wider as I think about my beloved mate. The men look at each other and shrug in agreement, and Rhonda manages to lose a little bit of her gusto. "Yea, that beautiful, incredible woman is my girlfriend, honey. You couldn't hold a candle to my girl," I gloat. She huffs and looks at the leader indignantly.
"Are you going to let him say that?!" she screeches, pulling at his sleeve. The leader sighs.
"Look, Rhonda…" he starts uncomfortably, and her face turns tomato red in fury. Evergreen giggles behind her fan and Bickslow guffaws.
"Bossman's right. Sorry sweet-cheeks. Cheerleader has ya beat." Bickslow snorts. I grin.
"Have fun with… that," I gesture vaguely towards Rhonda before turning around and continuing on my way. Rhonda screeches in fury behind me until she gets cut off. The men yelp in surprise and Evergreen smirks.
"Her voice annoyed me. She can turn back to normal when we get to the train station," she trills, and I look over my should to see Rhonda turned to stone. The leader looks torn between being outraged and relieved with the outcome of the altercation. We carry on our way and I nod at Ever.
"Thanks, Ever. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that crazy bitch tried to chase us," I snorted. Bickslow sidled up to me and grinned widely, elbowing me suggestively.
"So? Boss-man? Wanna fill us in on what all that was about?" he begs, his lust for gossip getting the better of him. I sigh but launch into the story. At least it entertained us until we reached the train.
That night, I lie in bed with a small smile. I gotta tell Blondie about this next time I see her. She'd probably get a kick out of it. My rub my thumb across the photograph of her she gave me, and I tried my best to fall asleep despite her absence.
I hope her mission doesn't take too long.
Throw some reviews my way. Or not.
I've got the next chapter mostly written, so I'll try and find the motivation to finish it and post it as soon as I can. I certainly have no intention of cancelling this story.