A/N: Okay, I know I usually leave notes at the end of the chapter, but I just wanted to warn you. Between the second and third o0o's, there is a dark slash/rape scene. It doesn't go into full detail, but if this makes you uneasy, then just skip to the third set of paragraphs and pretend the second set isn't there. I just wanted to warn you before you began reading; I guess this chapter would be M? I dunno', but please keep reading and please enjoy the parts that don't make you uncomfortable.
Chapter 6: Tackling Darkness
Bixlow jumped into the hole, landing neatly on his feet, scanning the area. Mirajane had found his helmet, but he didn't bother putting it on. He didn't want to waste any time if he needed his eyes.
Mirajane dropped beside him, followed by Elfman, Freed, then Evergreen. Freed sent out seeking runes, searching for magical energy.
"It'll be faster if we take care of all the extra mages," Mirajane whispered, a slender hand on Bixlow's shoulder. "I think it's best if you handle your brothers while we take everyone else." Her words were sincere, but there was a light in her eyes that told Bixlow he'd better not fail.
Bixlow nodded, looking at Freed, who caught a rune as it zipped back to him. "Two powerful mages are at the center; there is a very weak presence with them," Freed reported grimly.
"B******..." Bixlow muttered, glancing at Freed. "What's the quickest route?" Freed constructed a small, floating arrow made of runes, sending it to Bixlow. The Navigation Head.
Nodding, Bixlow followed it, breaking into a run. The Navigation Head sped up to stay ahead of him as they ducked below pipes, leapt over broken parts of the walkway, and slid around corners and turns. C'mon. Let me make it in time!
o0o
~AGAIN. THIS IS A DARK SCENE. DO NOT READ IF IT MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE; SKIP TO BELOW THE THIRD o0o.~
Lisanna winced as the knife ghosted across her breast, leaving a burning sting in its wake. She was cold and sore and wished her magical ability wasn't slipping away with each cut the knife made.
"So you're the one that Bixlow loves the most, hmm?" Aaron whispered, her chin in his hand. She regarded him with dull eyes, refusing to speak. The blade made another tear across her abdomen; adding to the many stings and burnings. Lisanna held back her whimper and tears, refusing to give them any degree of satisfaction. Or any more satisfaction than they got from seeing her blood drip down her humiliated, naked body.
"She's not much fun, is she?" Cable remarked from his position on top of her as he kept her pinned, making another slice on her inner thigh.
"Good bait though. I hear that we landed 4 more fairies," Aaron replied, not letting Lisanna's chin go. "Should we block our sibling's path?"
"No. Concentrate on keeping the other 4 at bay. I'd rather handle our weaker younger brother than deal with four mages that could be more powerful than he."
"I see your point, though love, however foolish and childish it may be, does add strength and heart to the idiots who believe in it."
"I don't think 'extra strength and heart' is going to help Bixlow's case."
"You're wrong..." Lisanna whispered. She had to; she couldn't let them down Bixlow like that. He was so much better than them.
"Oh, are we?" Cable smirked, dragging the blade in a diagonal slash from her hip and up her abdomen, stopping just below where her heart is roughly located. The deeper cut gushed blood and Lisanna couldn't hold back her whimper or the prickling tears assaulting her eyes. "I don't think you're in the position to make such a statement." He smirked, twisting the knife that was still embedded in her flesh. Lisanna yelped, trying to pull away, but Cable kept her pinned as Aaron took his position between her legs.
"We'll teach you respect, little minx." Lisanna yelped as something inside her broke, tears streaming down her cheeks. Sobs and vicious movements wracked her body and she just wanted it all to end. Aaron's laugh resonated in her ears as he continued with her, biting down on her neck and drawing tiny trickles of blood. "You really think that even if he does make it here he'll have the balls to take us on? That he'll be your knight in shining armor and just whisk you away, riding off into the sunset? Please, little girl. You're dreaming."
"He won't be beaten by you," She whispered through teary eyes. "He's stronger than both of you put together.
"So disrespectful, isn't she?" Cable murmured with a smirk.
The knife glided over her throat, making a thin, teasing cut. At that moment, despite her brave words, Lisanna wished it had gone deeper and just ended the whole ordeal already. She didn't know if Bixlow was on his way at all or if Cable and Aaron were just teasing her, only to make her suffer even more than she already was. Please...just let it end; I don't care how, I just want it to be over!
o0o
Bixlow kicked at the bolted door, pissed off. He could see them through the window; ravaging his Lisanna. Cable saw him, teleporting away, while Aaron looked up, smirking widely. "Line formation," Bixlow ordered Pappa, Peppe, Pippi, Poppo, and Puppu.
They obeyed, mimicking him in their high-pitched, now angry, tones. Bixlow stood aside as the green crescent sliced through the door, shattering it. He tackled Aaron off of Lisanna, seeing red.
Aaron smirked up at him as Bixlow pinned him down. "That's okay, bro. I've already finished." Letting out a feral growl, Bixlow released one of Aaron's wrists, pounding his fist over and over into the other man's face. His blows hit so hard that it sent Aaron's body into shock, rendering him helpless.
Memories of how Aaron and Cable would do the same to him in their younger days flooded Bixlow's mind, but he honestly didn't give a d***. He didn't give a d*** if Aaron couldn't hit or fight back; the b****** deserved it! They both deserve to suffer. They both deserve to feel the pain I felt and to feel every d*** thing that they'd done to Lisanna! How dare they lay a finger on her?! She didn't do a d***thing to them! They should've come after me! Slice my body! Torture me for hours! Strip away my magical power! WHY THE F*** COULDN'T IT BE ME, D*****?!
"Bixlow..." Lisanna croaked. "Bixlow, please...stop...you've gotten him...you'll kill him if you keep going like that..."
WHO THE H*** GIVES A F***?! Is what he wanted to say. What he thought he should say, but Bixlow, unable to hurt Lisanna any more than she already was, refrained, kicking aside his unconscious brother and kneeling next to Lisanna. Thin cuts decorated her body, circled by light burns. That d*** magic eating blade Dad got for Cable all those years ago.
Bixlow removed the garment that he wore around his pants; his shirt would've been too heavy for Lisanna to wear. Gingerly wrapping the cloth around her, he slowly lifted her up, cradling her close to him. "Lisanna..." He whispered, wiping blood from her face. "I'm sorry...so so sorry..."
"Not your...fault..." Lisanna wheezed weakly. "You came."
"Not fast enough."
"You...still did, though," Lisanna murmured, slipping out of consciousness, her head sagging against Bixlow's shoulder.
"Pippi. Find the others and tell them I have_"
"We're here." Bixlow looked up to where Mirajane, Elfman, Freed, and Evergreen were standing. They had a few minor injuries and were slightly disheveled, but other than that, perfectly fine. Unlike Lisanna.
o0o
The entire secret guild, dubbed Black-blooded Heart, except for Cable, was arrested. Bixlow was furious that Cable was nowhere to be found, especially since he's the one who initiated all this mess. Bixlow knew that it was Cable's idea to send the illegitimate mission request.
What he didn't know was how Cable and Aaron were able to get over half the city on their side; or why? Sure, back when he was a kid, Bixlow couldn't control his eyes, but he'd worn a paper bag with taped over eye-holes to keep from hurting everyone! He wasn't a threat anymore, so they had no reason to take it out on Lisanna!
Sighing, Bixlow glared out the window through the bars of his helmet. The train sped by beautiful grassy landscape, yet the view didn't help his mood one bit. Lisanna's head rested in his lap while he absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair. Elfman, Evergreen, Freed, and Mirajane all sat across from him, just as silent and grim as he was.
It pissed him off to no end that he wasn't able to stop Cable and Aaron in time for Lisanna not to take the fall. What if the b****** got her pregnant? She'd be carrying her rapist's child, d*****! I'd gladly take responsibility for the kid, but everyone would look down on her...and that would add to the stress that she's already experiencing! How would she be able to take it all?
Bixlow ran a finger over the thin slice on Lisanna's jaw, sighing silently. He knew that life wasn't fair, but this? This was just ridiculous. Lisanna didn't deserve this; no one did. Well, maybe his brothers did, but they'd never get this punishment, this treatment. Lisanna did though...she didn't do anything wrong...It was because of me though...
Bixlow felt that if he'd done something, he didn't know what, but something differently, Lisanna wouldn't have been harmed or raped. Gajeel didn't go through this when he nearly lost Levy a year ago-of course Bixlow isn't saying he wished something had happened to Levy; not at all-and yet here Lisanna was, laying with her head in Bixlow's lap.
I've always wanted to go to Paristole! Well...now she did...and Bixlow couldn't protect her from what had happened to her; he couldn't protect her from his own past. This was all his fault. Every bit of it.
"We don't blame you," Mirajane spoke softly, as if guessing his thoughts.
"You should," Bixlow muttered. If only he'd turned around before she'd been taken. He could've stopped it. Or maybe he could've frozen the people quicker; maybe he would've caught up to the carriage and sweep Lisanna into his arms.
"It's unmanly to mope about your mistakes," Elfman remarked, tearing his eyes from the window to look at Bixlow. "If you're a real man, you'd stop dwelling on them and start focusing on how to help the girl you love recover from her own trauma. Quit blamin' yourself and help my sister heal."
Bixlow looked at Elfman in awe. He'd expected some manly tirade s*** when Elfman had started speaking, but the big guy had a point. Bixlow looked back down at Lisanna, nodding, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "Yeah...Guess you're right..." He whispered, more to himself than to Elfman.
o0o
The rest of the ride was spent in silence. When the group got back to Magnolia, Mirajane and Freed took Lisanna home with them. Bixlow watched them walk away, feeling his shoulders sag with exhaustion and regret. As the rain pattered around him and pinged against his helmet, Bixlow didn't look away from the direction Freed, Mirajane, and Lisanna had disappeared in for what seemed like an eternity.
Finally, he turned away, heading for his own lonely appartment with his head held low. Despite Elfman's words, Bixlow knew he was at fault. But he wouldn't just mentally gripe about it. Bixlow picked up his head, feeling a fire stirring inside of him.
Wherever you are Cable, you b******, I'm gonna' find your sorry *** and pulverize it. You think you've seen me angry? Bull f***** s***. You ain't seen nothin' yet.
A/N: I feel so dumb. I just realized that in some of my previous chapters, I labeled "Cable" as "Cain", lol. If I confused you, readers, it really is "Cable". I'm sorry, I was thinking of the the Bible story Cain and Abel while writing this and I dunno' why. But I just wanted to clear that up. Anyway, thanks for all your support and all of the great reviews. And don't worry, the story's not over yet! XD And also, don't you hate it when you forget to erase the "paste your document here" thing? I do it almost every time, lol. It gets on my every last good nerve!