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Everyone was atop the turrets and towers of the front wall of Draconem Heart castle. Thankfully, Hibiki had detected signs of spawn making their way in through the safe room tunnel, and, courtesy of Onyx, there were now several large walls of bedrock and criss crossing rock pillars blocking their path.
Unfortunately, this also caused widespread panic about the children that were supposed to have been safe and sound within the safe room.
KeKe and Kayden, Kylie's parents, were particularly distraught, and it had taken everything to stop the two from plunging into the forest to search for their young daughter.
All of the wizards currently standing on the towers walls, squinting through the downpour and the flashes of bright lightning.
Shadowlogia was being viciously attacked by a dragon aura, and in the center of the golden, glowing creature, was Master Dracoya herself.
The dragonslayers were all together, standing in a row along the very edge of the turret, eyes wide as they watched their master doing battle.
"I want to charge in." Natsu growled, his instinct was to aid, of course.
Gajeel shook his head and put a hand on the fire dragonslayers shoulder to stop him from doing something he may regret.
"We'd just get in her way. We'll move in when she tells us to."
Gajeel ordered.
And thus the other dragonslayers, their chests constricting with conflicted emotions, watched their master singlehandedly forcing back the dragon of nightmares.
With Kylie.
The fiery haired little girl rushed through the underbrush, ripping whole branches off of trees with the violent winds that were left by her passing.
Painful hot pokers jabbed at her lungs, her face was badly scratched from running into low hanging branches.
She'd been sent by Jack to get help from the castle, she would complete that goal, no matter what happened.
She took another step, and her foot landed in a mud puddle.
With a surprised shriek, she found herself sliding several feet forward before her foot caught on a dry patch of earth and she smashed face first into the ground.
She lay there in dazed pain for a moment, panting hard, face turned to the side, not caring how dirty she was getting.
The rain pounded her tiny, helpless looking form, and tears were mixing with the blood and grime on her cheeks. She was alone in a terror filled forest, she could hear the spawn marching through the underbrush, and she didn't know if she could do what she'd done before, kick a hole clear through a monsters chest, again.
Kylie felt overwhelmed, here she was, a six year old girl, shielded from harm by tall castle walls and protective guild mates her entire life.
All of the sudden, it was up to her and her alone to save her friends, one of whom was quite literally dying.
She wondered if she just lay there, how long would it take for Jack and the others to find her? Or would her parents discover her? Maybe it would be one of her other guild mates?
Or would she just lay there forever?
Thunder shattered the somewhat peaceful silence all around her, and Kylie winced, gritting her teeth.
She got up on shaky legs, and knelt down again, taking off.
The wind blew the dirt from her face almost instantly, and as she ran, Kylie felt her worries beginning to slip away.
She could make it. She would make it.
She did make it.
Through a patched area of trees, she spotted one of the gold and green flags still flying proudly, she could see the tiny figures of the mages atop the walls.
With a choked half sob, half yell of joy, Kylie burst from the trees and made a beeline for the castle.
She saw Master Dracoya battling Shadowlogia, but she tried to block it all out, she needed to make it up that wall, over one last obstacle.
The tiny form darting from the underbrush went unnoticed by the mages, all eyes were glued on the ferocious combat that was going on in the grassy clearing that was in front of the castle itself.
Kylie leapt the moat easily, her speed carrying her right over.
With another burst of a light blue magic circle, Kylie went vertical, sprinting straight up the stones, up the tall castle walls.
She hurtled several feet in the air over the edge of the wall, landing on her feet, she made the final dash.
Straight into her unsuspecting Mother's leg.
"MAMA!" She wailed.
KeKe yelped in surprise, her hands flying up and her own bright red locks bouncing chaotically from her high ponytail.
She caught sight of her daughter, who had completely broken down, clinging to her leg and sobbing into it.
"KYLIE!"
KeKe dropped to her knees and seized her daughter, who crawled all too eagerly into her mothers lap.
"Shh...shh...it's ok sweetheart, I'm here, Mama's right here..."
KeKe tried to sooth her daughter as she stroked calming circles into her back.
Kayden had taken notice of this from her spot a couple yards away.
"Kylie! Thank god!"
He sprinted over to his family and wrapped her arms around his wife, so that Kylie was warm and safe in between the both of them.
Kylie shuddered when she realized what she was forgetting.
"We need...I need someone strong...who did Jack say..."
The long list of mages Jack had suggested slipped the little girls mind at the moment.
All except one.
"Laxus."
Both KeKe and Kayden were confused by the sudden naming of the lightning dragonslayer as Kylie clambered one aching limb at a time from her parents warm embrace.
Kylie's trembling voice continued to explain.
"She said...said to come get Laxus...get Laxus and take him back to them. Wendy got hurt real bad. Romeo is carrying her."
Kylie turned her still shining blue eyes up onto her concerned looking family.
"Mama, Papa, Wendy died and Romeo brought her back. But now she's sick and Romeo can't bring her back again this time."
Confused at this last comment, KeKe and Kayden both looked worriedly to each other.
"You can't go back. You...oh my god...what happened to you!?"
Kylie's mother had finally gotten a good look at her daughter, and realized that what she before thought had been mud was actually scarlet blood.
"Are you hurt!?" Kayden demanded, setting his daughter down before her and turning her this way and that, checking for injuries.
Kylie shook her head.
"It's not my blood. Well...a little is."
She ran a finger over one of the several scratches across her face that had been cut by the low lying branches.
"I killed a spawn monster on the way here. It reared up in front of me. I told it to get out of the way but it wouldn't listen to me. So I kicked my way right through it's chest and killed it. I kept going even though I felt awful. Now I gotta find Laxus and go back!"
Kylie declared, she was going to finish this mission with her parents approval or not.
Knowing her parents approval would take to long, Kylie darted back across the space of the turret and dove into crowd of mages all across the wall.
Careful not to gain anyones notice, and ignoring her parents pleas for her to come back, Kylie located the one she searched for.
The long furred coat hung down to the backs of her knees, which was just within Kylie's reach.
"LAXUS!" She yelled loudly, yanking hard on the furred black coat, knowing the mages affinity for wearing his sound pod at all times of the day.
Of course Laxus wasn't wearing his sound pod at the moment, but the shout from below and the wild tugging on his jacket sleeve got his attention.
He glanced down skeptically, until he saw Kylie, covered nearly head to toe in either mud or blood.
"Kylie?"
He asked, not bothering to bend down to the girls level.
As such, Kylie had to crane her neck to look the massive man in the eye.
"Wendy and Romeo and Jack and Cole and Asuka need your help! Please! They sent me ahead and Jack told me to find you and bring you back and so I ran all the way here and even fought a spawn monster to make it!"
Laxus wasn't about to say no to that, and simple shot his gaze back out to the chaotically brawling dragons.
"Gajeel."
Said dragonslayer turned to look up at Laxus.
"I'm going to help the kids, bring them back here."
"Whatever. Just don't get any of them killed." Was Gajeel's disgruntled reply.
"Which way, squirt?"
Laxus asked.
"They said they'd keep heading for the castle from where we were. I came from that direction." Kylie proclaimed, pointing.
Laxus bent and scooped up the child in one arm, narrowing his eyes as lightning leapt around his form.
"We're already on our way."
Yay! Back on the story! Laxus is on his way to aid the kids, but will he arrive in time to save Wendy? Find out next chapter! Please favorite, please follow, please review! Thanks!