It's Electric!

Levy was sleeping soundly, dreaming about her future with Gajeel and little ones running around when something in her kept telling her to wake up. She didn't want to! Her dream, it was beautiful! It was an escape from all the drama happening in reality! She stirred lightly, strong arms tightening their hold around her.

She opened her eyes, she was pressed against a bare and muscular chest, and she was even more unwilling to move! But… as she was coming to her senses, she heard a soft buzzing coming from her nightstand. 'Cana's card…?' She pushed herself up and tried to weasel out of his grip until she got a good look at his face. She paused, he slept with this serene look, and there was even a tear on his cheek! What could have brought that on?

She caressed his cheek, taking her time getting to the persistent buzzing. Whoever it was could wait a few seconds! She wiped the moisture away with her thumb before trying to turn in his arms without waking him. Fat chance!

"Mmm… Lev?" Gajeel felt movement in his arms and woke up to Levy trying to reach for something in her nightstand. Was it just a dream?

"Sorry, Gaj. Didn't mean to wake you," she nearly whispered as if he were still sleeping. "Someone's calling."

"Tch. At this hour? It better be an emergency," he grumbled, reluctantly letting her go just enough to reach the card.

"Let's hope not," Levy rolled her eyes, finally finding it. If it was an emergency, that just meant there would be something else for them to deal with! She wanted to be worry-free for once!

"Who is it?" Gajeel also hoped it wasn't an emergency. It only gave him more shit to deal with. There was no way in hell he was letting her get involved in anything dangerous from here on out!

"Cana!"

Ever since his little trip to that bar yesterday, Laxus had been sitting stationary in his living room, concentrating his energy. After he kicked Bix out, he sat in his big chair for over twenty-four hours without moving a muscle, just… focusing. What he wanted to do required extreme amounts of effort and energy, not to mention a clear and focused mind. He was pissed. How dare they attack his guy like that? Did they know who they were messing with?!

They were about to find out.

He initiated his plan in the evening, but he didn't finally leave his chair until the dead of night when he knew Magnolia was asleep and the perfect amount of energy had settled in the air. He stood, his entire body covered in hairs of electricity. Good. It was working. Once he made it outside, he checked out the skies, seeing golden lightning light up the atmosphere through thick, dark clouds.

Everything was going according to plan.

He left comfortably, this was his storm. He could come and go with his lightning as he pleased since he blended in. He appeared at his destination, satisfied with his vantage point. He stared down at that bar, it was really a shame it had to be this way. Those two really knew their way around liquor.

He waited a few minutes, letting the electricity in the air gather in a particular fashion. The cracks of gold light in the sky became more frequent, concentrated in the clouds directly above him. And without a second thought, a thick, bright bolt struck the bar, causing a miniature explosion. He let out a chuckle. He didn't think about all the alcohol in there. Of course, it was going to explode!

Debris flew in every direction in shrapnel-like projectiles, he actually nicked a few of the neighboring residences, but… sometimes you had to pay the price! He made a hasty exit, deciding to let the storm die out naturally. He couldn't believe everything really went as expected! "You reap what you sow."

"…babe!"

With his meditation having not worked, Bacchus was sleeping restlessly, tossing and turning all night. And to make matters worse, he was being rudely woken up! There was no way he was getting back to sleep now.

"Babe!" Cana shook him awake in a panic, met with a grumpy attitude. "We should go!"

Bacchus sat up at her urgency, knowing something serious had to be happening for Doll to be up and alert like this. He groaned, glancing at the light show that seemed to be happening outside. How intense was it for the light to shine through their thick curtains? "Doll…?"

"That reading from last night?" She said, jumping out of bed and throwing clothes and her most prized possessions into a random bag haphazardly. "It was a lightning storm!"

Ah. Her cards were always right. But what did an electrical storm have to do with them? Lightning didn't often touch down in well-populated areas such as this one. "…and we should go, why?"

"Remember that bad feeling you had? I'm feeling it now!" She began throwing some of his stuff into a separate bag, knowing he'd be too lax to do it himself. Once she finished grabbing everything they both deemed important, she tossed his bag at him. "Here! Get dressed and let's get out of here!"

He uncoordinatedly caught the duffle bag and the shirt she threw, doing as she said. He was confused but cooperative. He got up and peeked through the curtains, the light was only intensifying, and right above their little neighborhood, it seemed! Did she think something was going to happen to their bar?

"You ready?" She asked, taking a final, somewhat sad look around. Why did she have this gut feeling that this was the last time they'd see their home? There was one lone lightning bolt on that card, and she was beginning to understand what it meant.

"I'm ready, Doll." He followed closely behind her as she scurried through their small house and through their back door. He wondered if he should lock up, but before he could finish his thought, he only heard a split second of a loud explosion before his vision went dark.

"…up!"

Ugh. Where was he?

"Bacchus! Babe! Wake up…!"

Had he finally gotten drunk enough to go to the homeland?

"Gods, please!"

All he knew was, he was in a wild amount of pain, and someone was… calling his name? Cana? Why couldn't he move? Try as he might, but he was stuck! He groaned, trying to open his eyes. It was taking more effort than he imagined!

"Babe! Thank Gods!"

"D-Doll…" Everything was blurry, but he could make out the distressed look on her face and the rubble around him. He was slowly coming to his senses, and it was then that he realized he was pinned underneath something and too weakened to free himself. His arms were free, which was a plus.

"Talk to me, Bacchus! Are you okay?!" Cana was too in shock to acknowledge the injuries to her own body, all she cared about was Bacchus! She was terrified! At first, he wasn't moving or breathing, but then he came to and she couldn't have been more relieved!

What the hell happened?! One moment, they were leaving their house, and the next, it gets struck by lightning and destroys it completely! The explosion threw them a considerable distance, along with pieces of wood and brick and even miniature fireballs! She was sure something had gotten her side, but she was more focused on the large wooden beam that was pinning Bacchus down! She couldn't lift it!

She fell to her knees, trying to wake him up for the better half of a minute and panicking when he was unresponsive. She sobbed, begging the heavens not to take him away from her. She screamed at the lightning in the sky, asking why. What did they do to deserve this? Take the bar. Take their home. Take everything they owned. Just don't take him. And when he opened his eyes, unfocused, but open, her tears of despair turned into tears of relief and joy. He was spared! Thank Gods, he was spared!

"I'm…" as he recuperated, the pain only got worse. He could only be thankful that he could feel the pain in his legs. "I'm fine… Cana."

"I can't get this stupid beam off you!" She got up and tried to move it again, but she needed help! Thankfully, the explosion got the attention of nearly the entire neighborhood and people were starting to flock.

Bacchus tried to sit up, not noticing the gash in his side until he propped himself up. He hissed in pain, his hand instinctively reaching to hold the affected area. It was then that he looked forward and realized that the bar, their home, was no longer. He… wasn't good at expressing his emotions. If he'd have known, he'd have grabbed a drink on his way out!

Concerned neighbors came to the rescue, pulling the wood off his legs and helping him up, and asking all sorts of questions. Everyone else was just as clueless as they were, and some even wanted to get the Council involved, to which Cana gave a hard pass! The last thing she needed now was her dad up her butt stressing her out and making things worse!

But to her distaste, a few mages from the Council approached and told her they were on a nightly patrol and witnessed the entire thing from down the street. Deciding this was urgent enough to alert the Chief, they sent one of their guys to his office to inform him of the explosion since he happened to be pulling an all-nighter. She cursed under her breath, once he found out exactly which bar was struck, he was going to go crazy with worry!

"Cana! My little girl!"

And that's exactly what he did when he showed up out of breath. He hugged her tightly, ignoring her protests of being in pain and saying he didn't care, he was just glad she was alive. After he checked the two of them out and made sure they didn't have any life-threatening injuries, he got a few statements from the onlookers before dispersing the crowd.

"I'll send my people to clean this mess up in the morning," he said, solemnly, shaking his head at the remains of the bar. Why would such a thing happen? She'd never hurt a fly! He walked back up to them, they were so broken, and all they had were each other now. He was grateful for that, at least. "Do you know what happened?"

"Lightning struck the bar, Dad," Cana said curtly, ripping a piece of her shirt off and wrapping Bacchus' thigh. Stressed wasn't even the word.

"I'm aware…" he took a look at the skies, this was an odd storm. What could cause a lightning storm in the middle of Fiore? But even more so, what God did she piss off for this to happen to her, of all people? Wait… "Um, Cana?"

"Yeah, Dad?" She sighed, throwing Bacchus' arm over her shoulder. Where could they go now? Blondie moved to Crocus to be with the Duke, and Blue was probably cozied up with the king. Staying with her Dad temporarily was not an option, and they both knew it. She was going to have to start from scratch! This was awful.

"Can you tell me what led up to this?" Gil asked, hoping—no, praying it wasn't what he thought it was, because if so…? He might lose his job in the morning.

Cana gave a short rundown on everything that led up to the explosion, starting from the moment those two guys walked in up until she did the reading, and after Bacchus gave the description of the two guys, he got unusually angry. "Dad?"

"I need you two to listen closely to me," Gil said, his demeanor now more serious than it'd ever been. This couldn't be happening. No, it couldn't be. "Go straight to Little Levy and the king."

"Huh? It's the middle of the night!" Cana exclaimed. "I can't just show up! Especially at the king's house!"

"She has a card, give her a call," he turned, his cape flowing with him and the ground depressing with each step he took. "Call her until she picks up. In the meantime, stay put. I'm calling for a carriage."

"A carriage?! That's expensive!"

"Well, what else are you going to do? Trains don't start running until six." He turned, annoyed that she wasn't using her head. "Stay here and call her. I'll arrange for the carriage to take you to Shirotsume."

With that, Bacchus plopped down on the ground, getting the weight off his leg. He hadn't been this messed up in ages. He needed to work out. What do they do now? They had no home, no more stream of income. They were going to have to start from scratch. He looked up at Doll, who was frantically digging around her bag for her calling card. "Babe… you wouldn't happen to have a drink in there, would you?"

She let out an exasperated sigh. "No, babe, I didn't happen to grab liquor while fleeing our house. That was the last thing on my mind."

He said nothing, really owing his thanks to her. If it hadn't been for her psychic abilities, they would have been goners. He checked her out, thank Gods she wasn't in too bad of shape aside from the wound on her side. He'd have to give her a full once over once they found somewhere to rest for the night.

"Come on!" Cana tapped her foot impatiently as the card rang repeatedly. She hated having to wake them up, but her dad was adamant about going over there. What for? He left without giving them an explanation! "Pick up, Blue!"

Gil came back in record time, thankful that the Council Headquarters wasn't far from them at all. He approached the two, helping Bacchus stand and limp to the carriage. "Did she pick up?"

"No, and I really don't wanna just stop by! We need medical attention!"

"Just trust me on this one and keep calling," he helped her in and made sure she was seated comfortably before slipping a note with coordinates to the driver. "Here, take this and use it to help get you back on your feet. You might not hear from me for a while."

"What…?" He put a small chest on the seat across from them, and she was going to ask about it until he said he was going off the radar! "What are you saying?"

"I've got some business to handle," he said, trying not to rip the door off the carriage out of sheer anger. He figured he could give her his emergency funds just in case something happened to him in the next twenty-four hours. And if he lived, he had plenty of savings to get by on. He closed the door and tapped the side of the car. "He knows where to go. Just make sure you go straight there and tell them what happened. I love you, Cana. You too, Bacchus. You're like a son to me."

"Wait," Cana said before they started moving. "Dad!"

Gil watched the carriage until he could no longer see it and faced the rubble, which was a mistake because all it did was piss him off even more. That son of a bitch messed with the wrong one. Before he could retaliate, he had just a few loose ends to tie up at the Council, and he had to find someone to appoint once he was no longer of this world. He was ready to die for revenge, and nothing could stop him.

Meanwhile, Cana and Bacchus were left dumbfounded at the sight of all the Jewel and gold in the chest. Why… did he leave this with her? This was more than enough to get back on their feet! She began to cry as her card buzzed beside her. Everything was hitting her finally! She'd spent her entire adult life in that house with Bacchus, and now it was gone! All the work they put into their business, their personal life, all of it was gone! And now her dad was talking like she was never going to see him again! What the hell was happening?!

She did as she was told, just letting the card ring endlessly in the hopes that Levy would pick up soon. She really didn't want to go knocking on their door unannounced in the middle of the night! She cried. Bacchus held her and she cried so hard. Times like these, she wished he showed a little more emotion, but she couldn't ask him to in this situation. How was he supposed to react? Fussing about it did nothing!

The entire ride was sad and silent. Sure, they could start over, but neither of them wanted to! They were comfortable and happy in their tiny home. Life was easy, money flowed doing the things they loved. But perhaps this was an opportunity to follow their personal dreams. Perhaps this happened for a reason.

The card rang the entire trip, and Cana couldn't have felt more awkward and intrusive. Either they were dead asleep, or they were busy and didn't want to be bothered. Either way, once they weakly stepped off the carriage that surprisingly took them up the mountain, she felt extremely… what's the word?

"She still hasn't answered?" Bacchus took a look at the view, a sight like this every morning would ease his worries for the rest of his life. Meditating out here would calm his soul.

"Not yet…" right as she said that, the card stopped ringing and she saw a sleepy Blue with the king right behind her. Shit.

"Cana!"

"Blue… I'm real sorry to wake ya."

Levy became alert once she finally focused, sleepiness replaced with concern. She sat up in alarm when she saw the blood and scratches on her face. "Oh my Gods, you're hurt! Cana! What's going on?!"

"It's… kind of a freak story."

"Gods!" Levy threw the card down and broke out of Gajeel's hold, jumping out of bed and grabbing her robe.

"Blue…"

"Cana! I'm here!" Levy quickly covered herself while Gajeel watched with a super concerned look. She picked up the card. "Where are you right now? What happened?"

"We're outside your place, actually," Cana angled the card to show an injured Bacchus, who was just staring off into the distance. "Dad urged me to come here, so…"

"Oh, my Gods!" The condition he was in! What in the world happened?!"Come to the door! I'll let you in!"

Levy hung up before Cana could say anything, being stopped by Gajeel when she tried to leave the room. "Gaj!"

"Gil told 'em ta come here?" Gajeel knew this had to be serious and also dangerous. He couldn't have her exposed to danger with what he knew… or what he thought he knew.

"I guess so," she huffed, trying to pry his hand off her wrist. "I have to let them in! They're injured!"

"I know," he let her go, wondering why he even grabbed her in the first place. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she went back over to him, smoothing his hair back before kissing his forehead. "Whatever it is, it'll be okay."

"Yer right," he hugged her and turned her around, nudging her toward the door. "I'll be out in a sec."

Levy scurried through the house, turning on the light in the living room before getting to the door. She flung it open, her mouth dropping at the intensity of their injuries! She ushered them inside in a hurry, having them lie on the couch. She didn't care that it was now soaked with blood, material things could always be replaced. Family couldn't. She took their bags and set them to the side, wondering what to do next when Gajeel came down the hall.

"Holy shit," he cursed, not expecting it to be this bad. What the fuck happened?

"Call Wendy!" Levy demanded, thinking getting some towels and water to clean them up was the best step to take at the moment.

"Yes ma'am," he mumbled, going back to the room to call the kid. It was unfortunate he had to wake her up, but… this was an emergency. On the other hand, this worked out in his favor. If his dragon were right, she'd notice instantly.

As he figured out how to operate the card, he wondered what about this situation provoked Gil to send them their way. He knew he wouldn't have done this for no reason. That woman was his daughter, so he may have wanted her to get the best care… or, it was deeper than that? Probably.

And he was just thinking things were a little too quiet.

Surprisingly, the kid picked up within the first few rings and was happy to help, even though it was clear he'd woken her up. She just told him she was just racking up the favors and would cash them in soon enough, to which he just laughed. She'd helped him so many times, she had unlimited favors! Seriously! And in the coming months, he was going to need more of her help! He felt bad for asking so much of her all the time lately.

"Nonsense! I'm happy to help dear friends of mine!" She'd told him. "Since there are two patients, I'll be bringing Romeo, is that okay?"

"Yeah, fer sure," Gajeel wondered if he should warn Wendy ahead of time so she didn't act weird around Levy. "Hey, uh… when ya get here, try not ta make any obvious expressions when ya see Lev."

"Why so vague?"

"Just…" he didn't want to just tell her outright! "When ya get here, yer gonna know."

"Hm, okay. I'll see you in about twenty minutes. I'll use the wind to get there."

After he summoned Wendy, he went back out to the living room to get an answer on exactly what happened. Lev was quick, both of them were already mostly clean of blood. He could now see the extent of their injuries, both sporting gashes on their sides. Though Bacchus was far more injured than she was. He had a considerable amount of damage on his head and face which led him to believe he'd been knocked out by something. Both legs had similar contusions as if he were pinned down by something… he had enough bodily damage to kill a normal human! How was he alive?

"Uh…" he didn't know what to say! "I called Wendy. She'll be here with Romeo in a bit."

"Thank you," Levy was relieved that Wendy was nice enough to come over at four in the morning. She felt awful! She'd make it up to her!

"Blue?" Cana asked as Levy wiped down her arms. "Ya got any liquor?"

"Cana!" Levy gasped. Surely, she didn't think drinking was wise in the condition she was in!

"What?" Cana asked innocently. "I know ya have some! Besides, it'll help numb the pain…"

Before Levy could protest further, Gajeel stopped her. "Well… wait. As far as I know, these two live off liquor. Denyin' 'em now could cause their system ta go into shock. I say let 'em drink."

"You really think so?" Levy looked to him for guidance, he was a dragon, so he could see things she couldn't. She'd trust his word.

"I feel like the only thing that saved yer boy," he said, directing his attention to Cana. "Is the high alcohol content in his blood. But we'll get a second, more accurate opinion from Wendy."

"Drunk Bacchus saves the day again~" Cana said weakly. She just wanted to take a good shower and lay down.

"Then make that two," Bacchus chimed in, dying for a drink. And he knew they had the good stuff Doll only made for them.

"I'll go get you guys something," Levy stood, taking the dirty towels and bowls of water with her. She knew when they said they wanted a drink, they wanted entire jugs! And she knew just what to bring them.

"So…" Gajeel sat on the loveseat against the window, trying to figure out how to ease into it. "Gil… yer dad… sent ya here?"

"Yeah, after we told him what happened, he got mad and called for a carriage to bring us here," Cana sighed, slumping back on the couch. At least she could take some Jewel out of what her dad gave them to get them a new couch.

"Mind runnin' through it again with me? I'm sure there was a reason why he sent ya here."

"Gaj!" Levy said as she entered the living room with their drinks. "I hope you're not being unwelcoming!"

"No, no," Cana said with a soft smile. He was right, and she was also curious. "It's okay, we all wanna know."

"Well…?" Levy asked sheepishly, passing them their jugs and watching them guzzle them down like they were dying of thirst. Goodness. All she could do now was wait for Wendy to get there to stitch and wrap them up. She sat next to Gajeel, who'd put his arm around her waist protectively.

Cana put back at least half of her jug, this was the good stuff. She wiped her mouth with an exhale, the alcohol doing its job so far. "Wanna start it off, babe?"

"Yeah," he nearly finished his own, feeling just a little better now that he was inebriated. Doll was right. This was the only thing that could numb it all, both inside and out. "It started when two guys came to our bar last night. They stood out, and irked my soul."

"Then he had me do a reading after we closed up because he had a bad feeling about something," Cana explained. "It wasn't like they did anything bad, they paid and tipped and everything! But it was then that the weird feeling started, I guess."

"What did the reading say?" Levy was on the edge of her seat, who were the mysterious guys with the ominous presence?

Cana shared a glance with Bacchus. "It was vague. But… now that I think about it, it told us exactly what was going to happen."

"It explains the lightning bolt," Bacchus said, finishing off his jug and fighting back the urge to ask for another.

"Lightning bolt?" Gajeel sat up urgently. That's why Gil sent them their way! What the fuck?! "These guys… what did they look like?"

"One of 'em had a helmet on, but…" Bacchus faltered a bit, this part was still a mystery! "His energy was familiar. The other was a big guy with short blond hair and a scar on his eye."

Levy looked up at Gajeel, who was now simmering in anger. She now knew whatever happened, Laxus was behind it. She matched his anger, that asshole nearly killed her friends! How dare he! But it wouldn't do either of them any good if they were both angry, so she did her best to calm herself before calming him.

"Details," Gajeel growled, a hand clenched into a tight fist. So, he was going after their friends instead? There was no way Lev would want to keep this fucker alive after this. He wanted revenge, and he could feel her lust for revenge slowly but surely building up within her, too. "Gimme all the details."

"Right after they had their first drink, they left," Bacchus recalled. "It was wild how quickly they left. They didn't cause a scene, they didn't act strange… except the one with the helmet. He seemed a little stiff when I took his order. Maybe his soul was too weak to handle my presence. But it was obvious they were out of place."

"But we get a lot of travelers, so it didn't raise any alarm," Cana said. "Then, before we went to bed, I did a reading. My card just showed me clouds, his had a single bolt of lightning on it. We thought it was a regular thunderstorm, but why the emphasis on the lightning? Wouldn't the storm clouds have been enough?"

Levy nodded in understanding, she kind of knew how her cards worked, and they never said the same thing twice. She rubbed Gajeel's chest in an attempt to calm him down while Cana explained.

"Fast forward to tonight, and that bad feeling babe was feeling, I started to feel it. I woke up and there was this weird electrical storm going on in the sky. So much lightning, so bright…" Cana didn't realize how painful it would be to rehash the entire thing. "I woke him up and grabbed our stuff, and as soon as we stepped outside…"

Cana couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She leaned into an injured Bacchus, who was just as distraught, but good at hiding it. "The bar… our home… it was struck by lightning! It exploded! It's completely destroyed! And Bacchus was knocked unconscious and pinned under a wooden beam, it took the help of the neighbors to get it off him!"

She reached for her jug as they sat speechless and listened. She turned it up to her lips, chugging the rest of it. "That's when Dad showed up and I told him what happened… but it was weird! He gave us a chest full of Jewel and told us to use it to get back on our feet! He was talking like he was about to disappear, or something!"

"Fuck!" Gajeel stood abruptly and started pacing back and forth. That was a problem. He knew Gil, and he was probably planning on confronting that bastard, and the last thing he wanted was a fight to break out between the strongest mage in Fiore and the Duke of Magnolia! The damage that would cause?! Who would even win? He had to stop him before doing something everyone would regret!

"Gaj?" Levy stood, catching him and stopping him in his tracks. "What are you planning?"

Before he could respond, a knock on their door sounded. Wendy finally showed up! He went and opened the door letting them in.

As soon as Wendy stepped inside, her mouth fell open at the sight. These two were in horrible shape! She didn't even greet them, she just dropped her bag and rushed over to Bacchus first since he was in need of the most medical attention. "Heavens! We have to lay you down! Gajeel, do you have somewhere to put them?"

"I have a couple mattresses in one of the rooms upstairs," he said, helping Romeo get him off the couch while she directed her attention to Cana.

"Can you walk?" Wendy asked her. She'd been badly cut in her side, along with Bacchus, but luckily her wound was far more shallow.

"Y-Yeah," Cana stood, putting on her best face. She was in so much pain, it was finally setting in! How could Bacchus keep such a straight face? "Should I head up there?"

"Yes," Wendy lifted the side of Cana's shirt to assess the damage. She'd be fine once she healed her up. Bacchus on the other hand, might need a little bit of work. "Romeo will check you out and get some fluids going to help with the blood loss. I'll be up in a second."

"Okay…" Cana said, slowly making her way to the steps. Levy hurried to her aid, but she just swatted her away, offering a small smile. "I got this, Blue."

When Wendy finally got a good look at Levy, she understood immediately why Gajeel told her not to react strongly. She must not have known! His dragon must have told him personally. She walked up to her, taking her hands earnestly. "Levy."

"Oh, Wendy!" Levy threw her arms around her, needing the comfort. "I'm sorry to bug you in the middle of the night! I just…!"

"Levy, please don't stress yourself out," Wendy said as calmly as she could. Stress was the last thing a human carrying a dragon baby should experience! "It's okay. I'll fix them right up."

"I owe you a thousand favors!" Levy pulled away, wiping at the tears on her face.

"Don't worry about it," Wendy smiled. This was the woman who gave Gajeel a new outlook on life, who made him a nicer, more sincere dragon, who stepped up to give the people a leader they deserved, and who was now birthing the heir to the throne, a full-blooded dragon. With the new security she presented Fiore, it was Wendy who felt she owed the favors! "Romeo and I will always be at service to the queen, with zero hesitation."

She gave Levy another hug as her words seemingly made her cry again. "Besides, I'm cashing all my favors in with Gajeel!"

Levy chuckled softly at her offer to lighten the mood. She could only imagine what dark thoughts were filtering through Gajeel's head right now. Was saving Laxus even worth it anymore?

"Come on," Wendy pulled her toward the steps. "Let's get up there."