On the East Wing, Laxus was carrying a tray of food on his way to Mirajane's room. Having taken the advice of Natsu and the other servants into consideration, he personally made a meal to make up for Mirajane's missed dinner. The meal consists of a bowl of hot soup, a slice of bread, and a glass of orange juice. Hopefully, it would be enough to try and apologize to Mirajane.

Laxus whispered to himself in deep breaths, "Okay, Laxus. This is it. You got this. You got this. Act like a gentleman. Act like a gentleman." Having arrived in front of the door to Mirajane's room, he knocked it and called out, "Um, Mirajane, right? Just to make up for missing dinner, I made a special meal for you. I… hope you like it." He concluded his announcement with a blush around his cheeks. "I'm not sure this'll work. She'll probably snap at me again. Maybe I should..."

Before Laxus reached for the door, he heard loud voices approaching from the hallway. Hiding behind the drapes, he was surprised to see Mirajane walk down the hallway with Natsu and Gray escorting her.

"…as you can see, this castle was designed after the architecture of a magical fairy kingdom. And if you'll note the unusual inverted archways, this is yet another example of the late Neo-classic Baroque period," Gray gestured to the walls and ceilings in the hallway, with no one noticing the suits of armor turning their heads to look at Mirajane. "And like I always say, if it's not 'Baroque,' don't fix it." Gray laughed at his own joke, before he noticed the suits of armor facing Mirajane. He frowned, "Do you mind?!"

The suits of armor quickly turned away and apologized in unison, "Sorry!"

Natsu asked Mirajane, "So what do you think? Fairy Tail Castle's the happiest place on Earth-land, huh?"

Mirajane laughed and answered, "It's all so beautiful. I had no idea!" She looked around the hall, "The only thing that would make it a lot better was that he wasn't here."

"You mean, Master Laxus?" Gray asked in surprise. "That's kinda harsh, don't you think?"

"It's the truth," Mirajane said defiantly. "I don't think Fairy Tail Castle ever sees Laxus as its 'master.' It's better off without him. I'll bet even you would agree."

Gray frowned, "And why are we better off without him?"

Mirajane answered simply, "Because Laxus is a bully. A big thunder-and-lightning meanie who cares about no one. Someone else should be the master of this castle, like Erza. She would be way better than him."

As Mirajane walked after Natsu and Gray, Laxus emerged from behind the drapes with a shocked expression, as if he was slapped in the face after overhearing the conversation. "Act like a gentleman…" With a frown, Laxus tossed the tray of food aside. "This stinks." With that, he stormed off, leaving the tray splattered all over the floor.

A dustpan named Wakaba Mine came across the East Wing and looked to notice the mess of food on the floor. He sighed, "Not again. Well, better go get Mickey Broom."

After walking through nearly a dozen rooms, Mirajane, Natsu, and Gray entered the west side of Fairy Tail Castle, where Gray continued to elaborate on the castle's history.

"…and thanks to some quick thinking on my part, a huge disaster was averted," Gray narrated. "That was the last time anyone ever erected a huge fire-breathing statue of the late King Makarov in this area again."

Natsu scoffed, "Oh, please. Your so-called 'quick thinking' was tattling to Master Laxus after your butt's on fire. Even then, you ran around for ten minutes screaming your head off."

Gray snapped, "Shut up, Fire Breath! You're just mad because you got in trouble for nearly burning the castle twice with your so-called 'work of art!'"

Natsu argued angrily, "It only happened twice, Popsicle Stick! That statue was a masterpiece! I made it special for Boss! It's in the image of his late beloved grandfather. It was handcrafted from the finest spare junk the dump had to offer."

Gray rolled his eyes, "Oh, it was a 'masterpiece', all right. A masterpiece of—"

"Wait a sec," Natsu interrupted, looking around. "Where's Mirajane?"

Realizing Mirajane wasn't following them anymore, Natsu and Gray doubled back to look for her and nearly panicked when they saw her about to walk up a large staircase. Quick as a flash, Natsu and Gray blocked her path, with Happy the footstool joining them unexpectedly out of nowhere.

Natsu grinned at Happy and whispered, "Thanks for joining us, Happy. And nice defense."

Happy whispered back, "No problem. We can't let Mirajane get inside. If she does, Master Laxus is gonna be so ticked." Natsu winked his eye in response.

"What's up there?" Mirajane asked curiously.

"Where? Up there?" Gray chuckled nervously. "Nothing." Natsu and Happy had been shaking their heads, until Gray nudged them and Natsu quickly nodded. He added, "Absolutely nothing interesting at all in the West Wing. Dusty, dull, very boring."

"Oh… So that's the West Wing," Mirajane smiled at this revelation.

"Nice going," Natsu muttered to Gray, who covered his mouth in embarrassment.

"I wonder what he's hiding up there?" Mirajane wondered, looking up the stairs.

Natsu chuckled nervously, "Hiding? C'mon, Boss ain't hiding anything."

"Aye," Happy agreed. "Master Laxus is not hiding anything from us."

"Then it wouldn't be forbidden," Mirajane stepped over Natsu, Happy, and Gray, but they quickly dashed up and blocked her again.

Happy suggested, "Maybe you'd like to see something else? We've got the largest kitchen in the world with yummy yum food, water, and fish!"

Mirajane pointed out, "I've been there already." She stepped over them again, and they quickly blocked her path a third time.

It's Gray's turn to suggest, "Then how about this? Fairy Tail Castle's got exquisite tapestries dating all the way back to—"

"Maybe later," Mirajane said, and she stepped over them again, only to be blocked a fourth time.

"What about the Kardia Royal Gardens?" Natsu suggested hastily. "Or the library, perhaps?"

That peaked Mirajane's interest, "You have a library?"

"Oh, yeah! That's right!" Gray said happily, relieved that he had found something to take her interest off the West Wing.

"With books," Natsu added.

They started to lead Mirajane away, as Happy said, "Tons of books!"

"Mountains of books!" Natsu added.

Mirajane stopped in her tracks and glanced back at the West Wing, her curiosity getting the best of her. She walked back to the staircase, while Natsu and Gray made their way arm-in-arm to the library with Happy.

"Forests of books," Happy cried.

"Cascades…" Natsu said.

"…of books," Gray finished.

"Swamps of books!" Happy said.

"Books as far as the eye can see," Gray continued. "More books than you'll ever be able to read in a lifetime! Books on every subject ever studied, by every author who ever set pen to paper…"

While Natsu and the others were distracted, Mirajane had already gone up the stairs. A much different sight awaited her than she expected; instead of a widely lit hallway, there was a dark and dreary corridor lined with statues of gargoyles and broken pieces of marble littering the floor. Passing a smashed mirror, she came across a large door with a monster-shaped brass knob on the front. The face of the brass seemed to be warning Mirajane to turn back if she knew what's good for her. She was almost considering turning back, but she already reached for the handles. But when she did, she hesitated, remembering Laxus's warning not to come to this place and she was unsure of what she would find inside. Finally, Mirajane grabbed the handles and pulled open the doors.

Upon entering, what looked like a disaster met Mirajane's eyes. It was a large room where pieces of furniture, drapes, and decorations were torn up, tattered, and broken. On the other hand, some pieces of furniture lay in piles of ashes, burnt into crisps as if a lightning bolt scorched them from the sky. Even the bed was collapsed on itself. Starting to get a little creeped out, Mirajane cautiously walked around and tried with great care to maneuver around the mess, until she accidently knocked over a table. She gasped and quickly caught it before it crashed to the floor. Just then, something else caught Mirajane's eyes.

What she had seen was a shredded portrait of a tall and muscular man with slicked-back spiky yellow hair, blue eyes, and a lightning bolt scar on his right eye. He was wearing a black t-shirt covered by a large coat with fur around the neck and the sleeves' edges, draped over his shoulders like a cape. Mirajane curiously lifted one part of the shredded picture to connect the other parts, and slowly realized something awfully familiar about those eyes, but she couldn't put her finger on what.

Suddenly, a bright glow from the balcony caught her attention. Looking towards it, she was surprised to see the enchanted rose hovering underneath its glass bell jar. She wandered towards the table it was on, completely transfixed. Intrigued, Mirajane removed the bell jar and was about to touch the rose…

…Laxus! The Lightning Beast appeared out of the shadows and slammed the rose back up with the bell jar. He turned to Mirajane with fury and rage in his eyes, his lightning sparking up to higher levels. He demanded, "YOU! Why did you come here?!"

"I-I'm sorry…" Mirajane stuttered.

"I warned you never to come here!" Laxus growled, raising a fist at her.

"I didn't mean any harm!" Mirajane cried.

"Do you realize what you could have done?!" Laxus shouted, almost about to explode.

"No, please… I…" Mirajane pleaded, backing away over a broken footstool.

In a roar of rage, Laxus released a blast of electricity down upon himself, destroying what's left of the furniture around him like a forcefield. His body surged with a large amount of lightning manifesting his rage. He roared at the top of his lungs, "GET OUT! GEEEEETTTTT OOOOUUUUTTTT!"

Eventually, Mirajane's fear overwhelmed her. She scrambled away from the lightning before it scorched her, and she finally escaped from the room. As soon as Mirajane got farther away, the lightning subsided, indicating Laxus had calmed down. As he did, it took him a bit to realize that Mirajane had already fled, along with any chance he could've had with her. Not only did he lose his temper with her, but he also scared her away with his bizarre magic, possibly scaring her to the core and compelling her to run away.

The Lightning Beast fell into despair once again. He disgracefully bowed his head and covered his hands over his face, muttering sadly, "No… No… I did it again."

After escaping from the West Wing, Mirajane quickly grabbed her cloak and wore it on her way down to the staircase leading to the main hall of the castle. She then came upon Natsu, Gray, and Happy, who were surprised and relieved to find her.

Natsu called out, "There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Mirajane said hastily, "He tried to kill me! He's more than just a bully! He's a monster!" She dashed past them, making a mad dash for the exit.

"Hey! Wait!" Natsu shouted. "Where are you going?!"

Mirajane cried, quickly opening the front door, "Promise or no promise, I can't stay here another minute!"

Gray yelled, "No! Stop! Come back here!" But Mirajane already slammed the door behind her. He, Natsu, and Happy watched helplessly in disbelief as their last hope in breaking the spell vanished out the door.

Outside, a blizzard was furiously blowing as Mirajane escaped on Parakeet, fleeing the castle and heading into the woods. She sighed in relief, knowing she was finally away from that prison and the monster inhabiting it. However, she didn't get too far when she heard a howling noise. Looking over the side, Mirajane gasped horrifyingly as a pack of Lion-Wolves emerged from behind the trees, growling at her and Parakeet. Mirajane quickly pulled the reins and urged Parakeet on with the Lion-Wolves giving chase. The horse hastily ran side to side, making the Lion-Wolves hit the trees, one by one, and Parakeet slammed one Lion-Wolf into a tree.

Parakeet quickly ran out onto a frozen pond, but the ice gave out under the horse. The Lion-Wolves chased Mirajane into the water. Parakeet quickly got out of the water, but soon, they were surrounded by more Lion-Wolves. Frightened, Parakeet reared and Mirajane fell off him, and he tangled his reins on a tree branch. The Lion-Wolves began to attack Parakeet, but Mirajane, desperate to defend her horse, hit a few Lion-Wolves with a stick. Unfortunately, the Lion-Wolves proved more agile and strong enough to knock her over, snapping her stick in half and tugging on her cloak.

"NO!" Mirajane screamed. She was about to meet her end when a Lion-Wolf pounced, the girl helplessly bracing herself…

However, it was caught mid-jump by Laxus, who let out a mighty roar at the Lion-Wolf's face and tossed it away. The Lightning Beast emerged out of nowhere, his body engulfed in powerful lightning, and standing protectively over Mirajane, much to her complete surprise.

"Lightning Beast's Roar!" Laxus breathed a concentrated destructive blast of lightning, which electrocuted and smashed the Lion-Wolves on sight. Despite a few taken out, however, the Lion-Wolves kept coming in numbers and began to advance on him.

"Stand back!" Laxus shouted at Mirajane. All at once, the Lightning Beast and the Lion-Wolves attacked each other, slicing and biting and clawing each other in a huge, massive frenzy. During the battle, Laxus was strong enough to endure the bites and scratches from the Lion-Wolves, which gave him a slight advantage. He decimated the rest of the Lion-Wolves with various magical attacks, including special techniques such as Lightning Beast's Roar, a blast of lightning from his mouth, Lightning Beast's Demolition Fist, a giant high-speed lightning fist, and Lightning Beast's Heavenward Halberd, a lightning attack in the shape of a trident.

At the end of the brawl, half of the Lion-Wolves were dead, and the others were horribly burned by Laxus's lightning. His power over thunder and lightning was terrifying enough to force the remaining Lion-Wolves to run away. Exhausted by his ordeals, Laxus looked up at Mirajane with sorrow in his eyes, his body covered in claw and bite marks as a result of the Lion-Wolves. The worst injury was on his left shoulder from where the last Lion-Wolf had bitten him, which was bleeding profusely. Laxus tried taking a step towards Mirajane, but he stumbled and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Mirajane watched in disbelief, but was shaken to her senses when Parakeet let out a loud neigh. She instantly rushed to him and freed his reins from the branch. The horse gestured Mirajane to hop on, but she hesitated. She looked back at Laxus, who lay unconscious and bleeding in the snow. This could be the perfect time for Mirajane to make a clean getaway, but that would also mean leaving Laxus to die alone without medical aid. As much as she disliked Laxus, she knew she couldn't let that happen to him.

Moments later, Mirajane was leading Parakeet, with Howl draped over him, back to the castle.

Upon Mirajane's return to Fairy Tail Castle, the news of Laxus's injuries in battle with the Lion-Wolves had not been taken lightly by Laxus's servants. Immediately, Laxus was taken to his quarters to receive a warm spot by the fireplace and extensive medical treatment, courtesy of Mirajane and Fairy Tail Castle's best.

During the treatment, Mirajane poured some hot water out of Erza's nose and soaked a rag in it. She said to Erza, "Okay, I knew you were an administrator and all, but I had no idea you're a doctor as well."

Erza explained with a smile, "My special recipe tea also serves as herbs to treat the sick and injured. Master Laxus often refuses to take it, preferring to heal the wounds in his own way, the way an animal would." She gestured to Laxus, who was slowly licking the wound on his shoulder. "See what I mean?"

"No, no, no," Mirajane shook her head in disappointment. "This will never do." She came over with the rag, "Here now. Don't do that." Laxus growled at her. Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Romeo, and Happy nervously backed away, having a bad feeling about what's going to happen next. "Just… hold… still…" The rag finally touched Laxus's wounded shoulder, causing him to roar in pain. The roar was so loud that it scared the others to hide.

"THAT HURTS!" Laxus shouted at Mirajane's face.

Mirajane shouted back, "Stop being such a baby! I'm trying to help you!"

"But it still hurts!" Laxus whined.

Mirajane angrily replied, "If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much!"

Laxus argued, "Well, it's your fault! You're the reason why I'm hurt! If you hadn't run away in the first place, this wouldn't have happened."

Mirajane retorted, "My fault?! It's your fault! If you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!"

"Yeah... Well…" Laxus struggled to find a way to retaliate, until he responded, "Well… You shouldn't have been in the West Wing!" He clenched his fist into the edge of his chair and gave a smirk.

Mirajane pointed out, "Well, you should learn to control your temper."

Laxus raised his eyebrow, "Temper? What temper?"

"Your temper!" Mirajane said sternly with hands on her hips. "You should be ashamed of yourself, shouting and screaming and getting angry over nothing. It's the same thing you did when you asked me to come to dinner. If you wanted me to come to dinner, you should've asked nicely, and if I said no, you just should acknowledge that. And let's not forgot about your servants. Sure, they served you faithfully, but you kept on pushing and pushing them. Don't you think you're wearing them down? They're getting tired when you demand more from them all the time. Can't you see that? You're being a bully and a spoiled brat." She then sighed, "I know you weren't yourself when I almost touched your rose. It was very precious to you, isn't it? Is that why you told me not to come into the West Wing? You don't have to apologize. But I had hoped that you might've changed a little bit…" She wagged a finger at Laxus, who was starting to look sheepish. "I wish you could start trusting me."

Upon hearing Mirajane's reminder, Laxus was silent, and for once, words to express back seemed to fail him. He looked at Mirajane suspiciously while blushing at the same time, unsure whether to trust her or not. She was a very peculiar character who could easily point out one's cruel behavior… She was too good.

Laxus relented, finally admitting to himself that what he did was wrong. He sighed, "Sorry, Mirajane… You were right. I… wasn't myself. I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you."

Mirajane smiled warmly, "I told you, you don't have to apologize."

Having emerged from their hiding places, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Romeo, and Happy looked at each other in disbelief and amazement. Mirajane and Laxus were actually trying to make amends with each other! And this may be the first time Laxus had ever apologized to anyone!

Mirajane continued, "You know I can't just leave behind someone in need of help. You're bleeding really bad. That why I want to help you. Now hold still. This might sting a little."

Laxus cringed in pain as Mirajane began to dab the wound with the rag. She grinned, "And by the way… Thank you, Laxus, for saving my life."

Laxus looked at her in surprise at how humble and sincere Mirajane was to him. No one had ever thanked him for anything before. It was a strange feeling. He nodded slightly and said, "You're welcome."

With Mirajane and the Lightning Beast finally on friendly terms, the transition would go a lot smoother. They might have a real chance at breaking the spell after all.