Chapter Thirty-two

"Why were you here instead of out capturing the people who blew up these walls?" I could hear Lahar yelling at Doranbolt through the thick wooden door of the library.

Wendy was still working on the injured Rune Knights when we got back and Lahar had arrived back at headquarters soon after. Apparently council members had some business elsewhere that day and Lahar was gone escorting council members when the library had been blown up. Laxus and I had given a brief summary of what we had found out, which was mostly me repeating what Beta had said about the brands and what they can do. Shortly after, Lahar had taken Doranbolt into the hall to speak, but not before telling us not to leave the library. It had been only a few minutes since then. During the time since we got back, none of the rest of us had left the broken down library, Gajeel, Jet, Droy and I almost completely focused on Levy's wounds slowly getting lessened by Wendy. Levy's injuries weren't life threatening, thankfully. I don't know if we could have stopped the three males surrounding her from going after Beta, even if they were injured.

I could hear the muffled sounds of Doranbolt's voice through the doors as he answered Lahar, though I couldn't hear what was being said. Lahar started answering him in a quieter tone, though it was still clear that he was speaking loudly and firmly at Doranbolt.

In the background I could hear snippets of Laxus' conversation with his team, mostly consisting of whether or not we should go back to the guild. Evergreen and Bixlow were saying that we should go back to the guild because it was made clear that the Rune Knights couldn't protect us like they said, and whoever those guys were, they were clearly after the library, or rather information, and quite possibly, me. And now they knew we were here, in a damaged building they could apparently already get to, destroy, and get away from. Freid agreed with their arguments, and also wanted to go back home to Magnolia. However, he also thought that we should stay because we still needed whatever information we could get about the group that had targeted my mother. Laxus has yet to say anything towards one side or the other.

"I don't think that's a good enough reason to stay." Bixlow argued against Freid with Evergreen nodding beside him.

"I agree with Bix, for once. I mean, they didn't just break into Council Headquarters library for fun, there's no reason to believe that whatever there was on that group is still here and not destroyed or was taken with them."

"These people held their own against nine Fairy Tail mages," Freid let out a long sigh, his voice quieting down even more, sounding almost resigned, "most of whom were S-class or qualify for S-class ranking, when there was only four of them. Those guys were more than likely part of that group, so it's more crucial than before that we get whatever information we can. It doesn't matter if there's a lot, or practically nothing."

After hearing Freid's reasons for wanting to stay, and more than likely understanding why, Bixlow and Evergreen released a defeated sigh. They stayed quiet for a few short minutes, and I felt a nagging in my mind that let me know that Laxus, being the leader that he is, wanted to say something to his team. But, we all also knew that Laxus wasn't the greatest with words, so I suppose this can be where I join the conversation.

I groaned as I pushed myself off the ground from where I was kneeling beside Levy's legs, wiping away dirt, dust, and pointy little bits of debris off my legs as I went. I frowned when I realised I was still covered in blood with no injuries, and nothing to show that I had done anything in the fight against those four.

Not that I had, Bixlow told me to stay out even before he knew about me and Laxus sharing injuries. I shook my head clear of the thoughts. This is not the time to pity yourself, Lucy.

I made my way to the part of the room where the Raijinshuu were sitting on and against large debris, broken tables and whatnot. Laxus had been watching me from the second I first moved to stand, I saw the confusion that flitted across his face when I thought about not being any help, and felt the slightest amount of worry. Fried raised a brow as I stopped about a foot away from them.

"Sorry, but I could hear what you all were saying. About returning to the guild, I mean." I shuffled from foot to foot, unsure if I should actually give my input now that I was standing here. They were off by themselves, they probably didn't even want to have anyone else hearing their conversation, but we were stuck in one room together so they had no choice. I was biting my lip when I heard a slapping noise on the ground.

"Come on, Cosplayer." Bixlow, who was sitting and leaning against a large piece of fallen ceiling, was lightly hitting his hand against the clear spot beside him. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding and stepped over other fallen stones to sit beside him and I was practically dwarfed by the man.

"What were you wanting to say, Lucy?" Evergreen asked in a slightly impatient tone, which I saw through to the curiosity that was in her words.

"Oh, right. Well, I agree with everything I heard you all say. But there's a few things I want to add. Freid, while I agree that we should find any information we can on them, I think Evergreen is right that they came here to destroy whatever information there was on them. I believe that means that this group is planning something, and whatever that something is, it's going to happen soon. If that's true then we need to leave here and go anywhere else that there might be something on them."

"And where did you have in mind, Lucy?" Freid's voice broke through my short rant.

"Well, our guild isn't the only one with a bunch of brainiacs, and the Light Alliance just so happens to have someone who specializes in information."

Well, I'll give you three guesses as to who Lucy is thinking of.

I apologize for being gone so long. I'm completely better, finally. I still feel tired all the time though, so it makes it hard to organize my thoughts enough to write, so this is all I have for right now.

So, muses, review all questions, along with what you liked and didn't like, and send me as much inspiration as you can. I'll try to be back quicker next time.