So once again we have another chapter of Silent Thunder from the Furret Princess~! And in this one, if you can catch my little parody, you get a free hug from Ringo! I hope you enjoy!

Silent Thunder

Arc II

Chapter 5: Antagonizing

Ringo did not resist as the strong arm pulled her into the room. Her back touched something solid and warm. The arm wrapped across her shoulders, a large hand on her right one and calm breathing hit the side of her head.

Ringo glanced up at Laxus as he closed the door once her long legs were inside the room. Despite getting her away from the horror dolls, one still clung to Ringo's booted ankle. Glaring at the creepy creature, he shot a small jolt of electricity at it, frying it completely. Feeling a small tingle from the shock, Ringo kicked the dead doll off of her and watched it shatter when it hit the tiled floor of Laxus's room.

Laxus released his grip from Ringo and the brunette stood up straight, straightening her hair and outfit. She watched Laxus kneel down and pick up a broken piece of the porcelain doll they had defeated. She moved over to him and leaned down, her cloth covered hand on her knees for support. "It looks like a normal doll." She said, glancing over the face which was sunken in but still had its hair on.

"It is." Laxus said, standing up and dropping the piece he had picked up. It broke into two smaller pieces. "They're magic infused."

Ringo pondered on what sort of magic could make them move. Her grandfather had not taught her much on the different magics of the world, simply on the type she had. The more she thought, the more she searched for a distraction and eventually made Laxus that distraction.

The blonde had changed from his clothing of black pants and collared shirt to the clothing that John had given them: A dusty grey shirt that was collared with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a black vest with red trip that resembled a tangle of thorns. There were gold buttons on it and a chain that went to his breast pocket. The shirt and vest were tight on his broad chest and shoulders but seemed to fit him nicely. He wore black dress pants with a single gold chain going from the front belt loop to one at his back and black boots, clasped with gold buckles. In Ringo's eyes, despite the forming scowl of frustration on Laxus's lips and the knot in his brows, he looked very good.

Ringo's thought were sent to the back of her mind when Laxus called her attention. "Huh?" she asked, having not been paying attention. The lightning mage frowned and yanked at the thick strand of hair that made up her side bangs, not being able to grab a twin tail.

"Pay attention." He warned her. "Did you see our host in the hall?"

"Nope." Ringo said, not minding the little tugs of her hair. "There was nobody there till the dolls came. I couldn't even hear anyone walking."

Laxus released her hair and frowned, glancing around the room. Like Ringo's, his held a bed, a dresser, vanity and a full length mirror but no windows. He did have a wardrobe that was positioned against a wall that could be shared by a room next door. He was searching for a way out other than the hall way; he could hear the moving dolls outside, waiting for them to take the risk of using the door.

Ringo wandered through the room, spotting small differences it in, such as the tile floor, the bedspread, the thin looking wardrobe. She stepped closer to the dark wooded furniture piece and opened it, finding thick fur coats and hat boxes cluttered inside. She reached out and started to move them aside, learning that the fur was real as she was covered in dust. Coughing slightly, she placed her hand at the back of the wardrobe to keep her balance as water formed in her eyes.

When the coughing stopped, she looked through the coats and to where her hand rested. The whole wardrobe was rugged, unsanded wood that seemed to have been put together in a rush, but this piece was smooth and glossy. Ignoring Laxus's question at what she was doing, Ringo pulled the coats out, tossing them to the floor behind her and tossed out the boxes as well, tipping them over and allowing the feather smothered headpieces fall out. A cloud of dust decorated the already stagnant air with a brown must.

Covering his mouth, Laxus walked over to the long haired girl and stared at her discovery. With the clothing gone, a small notch in the smooth wood could be seen, as well as hinges, indicating it was a door. Laxus reached and carefully opened the wooden panel, finding a curtain blocking the other side. He cautiously pushed it aside, revealing the back of what appeared to be a picture or a mirror.

With Ringo right behind him, Laxus pushed the board up, feeling the weight that indicated a rather large mirror. He climbed through the rectangular hole in the wall with slight awkwardness do to his side but managed to get out without too much of a hassle. When he stood on the floor of the room, he turned and offered Ringo his hand as she climbed through. The woman took it without a thought and jumped down slightly, ducking as Laxus lowered the mirror without a sound.

Ringo let go of Laxus's hand and examined the empty room. In all honesty, it was indeed empty except for the mirror door. "I expected something a little more exciting." Ringo admitted in disappointment.

"Snow?" Laxus raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she could find exciting in the mansion where dolls attacked them.

"Something like that." Ringo smiled and walked over to the only other door in the room. She put her ear to it and could hear the dolls moving around outside of it, however, they seemed to all be around the other door still. "We're in the room next door." She looked over at Laxus who had his arms crossed over his chest. He knew that it was their only way out.

He walked over to the door and put his hand on the handle. He opened it without a second thought and grabbed Ringo by the wrist, quickly running out of the room. His heavy footsteps and Ringo's clumsy ones caught the attention of the dolls. Their heads turned completely on their bodies to watch them. Ringo stared in disgust and decided to turn to look ahead of them.

"I hate dolls now." She said, knowing Laxus didn't have time to pay attention to the scene she had just seen. Laxus grunted an approval and kept his grip on her wrist as they ran down the never seeming hallway. Ringo glanced back and could see the dolls chasing them at a scary pace. Many crawled on all four and backwards, their legs first. They were on the floor, the walls and even the ceiling. Ringo shivered at the image and Laxus glanced back when he felt her shiver. His face showed signs of disgust as well and picked up his speed.

Finally the two came to a flight of stairs and Laxus immediately ran down them. Ringo's hair flew behind her as her free hand moved in rhythm of their running. She skipped several stairs along with Laxus as they ran down, her stomach jumping each time she felt too much air beneath her feet.

When they reached the bottom, Laxus stopped to stare at the dolls that had gathered at the top of the stairs as Ringo stumbled slightly in his grip. She looked back up at the now still dolls, puzzled at their actions. Laxus gripped her wrist harder as he stared in wait for their action. His eyes darted around them, finding only another flight of stairs for them to go down.

"Move." Ringo said, seconds before dolls all jumped off the top of the stairs in a large tidal wave of glass and creepy. Laxus's feet moved as soon as Ringo's words fell onto his ears and led her to the other flight of stairs. As his feet hit the top step, he heard Ringo wince as the sound of cracking and shattering dolls reached their ears. She covered her right ear with her right hand as they ran down the steps which became thinner and thinner as they went down. The sounds of dolls following ceased as they continued their decent.

After several minutes stopped, Laxus stopped the trot to a slow but steady walk. He released Ringo's wrist and stopped completely, two steps down from the woman. He looked up past her face, barely catching the sight of her panting from the running and seeing the small dot of light that indicated the top of the stairs. He looked back at the depths below him, seeing nothing but black—it seemed that even the lights that had been dotting the side of the stairs ceased.

Predicting the case, Laxus gripped one of the lanterns in his large hand and took it off the wall. Ringo's light panting started to fill the still air as once again they started walking. She walked three steps behind Laxus, trying to catch her breath and calm herself down. Despite the coolness of the building, her hair stuck to the back of her neck in sweat. She ran a hand through it, trying to get it off of her neck but to no avail.

Sighing to herself to she hopped down a step, creating a large echo and causing the man in front of her to turn with a steady stare that told her to never do that again. Ringo smiled an apology as she continued down after him silently.

The cold air started to fade as warmth hit them like a hammer. The air turned from cold and stagnant to warm and muggy. The annoying sound of buzzing filled the air, indicating mosquitoes and flies. Laxus waved his hand slightly as the creatures became attracted to his lantern. The two mages stopped when the stairs at a cliff with a large swamp, only a few yards below them. The water was filthy with cattails, lily pads, insects and reptiles galore.

The buzzing increased tenfold as dragonflies buzzed past them, gators hissed and frogs croaked. Ringo covered her ears at the obnoxious noises and turned their volume down even more. Her eyes darted to the frogs, trying to keep track of each one which ended up being impossible. Laxus's focus was above them where golden lachrima were engraved into the stone walls, creating light and heat.

"This guy has strange hobbies." The man muttered to himself, searching for a way down. On the other side of the swamp, he had spotted another set of stairs which could very well get them out of the heat. With the thick and layered clothing they wore, sweat started to bead on their foreheads. After a bit of scanning, the man managed to find some rocks they could use as stepping stones to get across.

He jumped down, not bothering to tell Ringo. The brunette noticed his intention and quickly followed, wanting to leave the swamp hell for entirely different reasons than to get out of the heat. She landed softly, leaving a much shallower foot print in the mud but grumbling at getting the sticky stuff on her boots.

Laxus easily walked across the slippery rocks, maintaining his balance thanks to his own body weight. However, he was careful when he stepped in mud, knowing that his size could be of a disadvantage if he sunk. Ringo followed close behind, watching her footing and watching the scenery around her. She noticed a few gators eying them but her main concern was for a different kind of swamp creature.

During the brisk walk across the indoor swamp, the two mages were smacking their exposed skin of mosquitoes, waving away flies and avoiding the mud with the best skills that they could. Ringo's balance had slipped a few times, almost sending her into the, who knows how deep waters before Laxus grabbed her or nudges her up straight. The sound mage could not help but sigh in relief when they reached the other end of the swamp and were on solid ground again.

As the two mages started to walk to the stairs, both glad that the swamp led to nothing attacking them, a sole toad, the size of a small cat, jumped out of the water. Ringo noticed it right away and jumped back, shying behind Laxus. The lightning mage stared at the overgrown frog and looked back at Ringo's panicked face.

"It's a toad." He said, arms crossed over his chest.

"I hate frogs." Ringo said quickly, looking up at the man. "Toads are basically the same thing."

"It's harmless." He pointed out, gesturing to the toad which simply sat there, staring at the two mages.

"I had one jump in my face as a kid; they are on my bad list." Ringo said, lifting a finger and frowning.

Laxus shrugged, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere and decided to simply ignore the slimy swamp creature and continue to the stairs. Before he could even get within a yard of them, the overgrown toad croaked loudly, shaking the whole swamp. Ringo covered her ears as the alligators and other creatures disappeared into the depths of the waters. Soon the water started to pool up as a monster sized toad jumped from the waters and landed in front of the mages, blocking the stairs.

Ringo and Laxus stared up at the slimy creature. It was a disgusting brown colour with warts covering its back and a mucus film pooling from the body, pooling at its long legs and feet. Laxus covered his nose as Ringo held her breath from the putrid smell that encased the monster. Deciding that the creature was not going to move out of their way, Laxus raised an arm, sparks generating all around it.

Noticing her partner's eagerness to attack, Ringo reached forward and grabbed his shirt, trying to get him to stop. Laxus turned to her, his sparks disappearing and wondering why she stopped him. "Water." Ringo said, pointing to the conducting liquid that surrounded him.

Laxus lowered his arm and frowned. If he fried the frog, he could very well fry Ringo as well in this room. Ringo stood next to him and looked around for a place where she could go in order to stay out of Laxus's way. She disliked the large frog in front of her, her eye twitched slightly and her stomach was doing flops at it being so close and so large.

She continued to look around when Laxus knelt down and wrapped his arm around her thighs, lifting her up on to his shoulder and away from the water soaked ground. Ringo's hands instantly gripped at his muscular shoulder and arm with her hands which were much smaller in comparison. With her butt off of his shoulder blade a bit, Laxus had his arm wrapped around her waist and lying on top of her legs, gripping at her lower thigh.

Noticing her wet and muddy boots, Laxus took them off, ignoring Ringo's protests at losing the shoes as he tossed them into the swamp. With the girl safely out of the water and with no water on her to conduct his electricity, Laxus lifted his left hand, charging up the electrical magic within him. Before the toad in front of them could even notice the changing particles in the air, he was struck with a powerful blast of lightning. With the water that filled the room, the yellow-white blasts danced off the ground and up the walls, surrounding the two mages and crackling around them. Being on top of Laxus prevented Ringo from getting electrocuted as the lightning mage acted as a catalyst, deterring the bolts into different directions. Still, her long hair started to stick up from the static.

When they lightning finally calmed down, fish and swamp creatures alike started to float the surface, dead and tingling. The large frog was on its side, eyes white and body steaming. It was dead but it's own mucus covering at prevented it from being completely fried unlike the other victims of the attack. Still feeling the electrical currents flowing through the ground, Laxus kept Ringo on his arm until he made it to the stairs which were unaffected by his attack. He put her down gently and Ringo stood on her toes from her lack of shoes.

She frowned at her stocking feet but was pleased to find the stairs were smooth and would be decent to walk up. She looked up at Laxus who had glanced down to her and smiled. "Thank you." She said, showing teeth. Laxus smiled slightly, giving her a nod before walking up the stairs. Ringo followed behind him with no hesitation, bidding a solid farewell to the toad room.

Much like the first set, these stairs were long and narrow with little to no light as they continued to go up. The further they got away from the bottom, the colder it got. Ringo shivered slightly as the cold stone stairs turned even colder under her stocking feet. She started stepping lightly and quickly, eventually walking on the same step as Laxus and eventually getting ahead of him in her attempt to leave the cold staircase.

Laxus watched her go up quickly, questioning her sudden rush when he remembered that he had tossed her shoes. He felt a bit guilty for that but it seemed right now her only complaint was the cold of the stair case. He was only around ten steps from the top when Ringo came to a stop and turned to wait for him. She smiled and wiggled her toes slightly as he finished is ascent and stopped right at the top.

The room they entered was wide and unlike every room they had seen before, held multiple windows which were closed with thick curtains, allowing only a slit of sunlight came through, creating that thin line of light on the black and white tiled floor of the room. The air was musky, as if the windows had never been opened but the floor was clean, shining even in the darkness of the room. A single chair sat in the room; large and gold with red velvet cushions and sitting in it was John, with a haughty look. However, even in the lowlight you could see a bit of shock dancing on his face.

"I didn't think you would be this much trouble." He sighed, standing up and spreading his arms out to them. "But this is what I get for inviting the notorious Laxus Dreyar into my mansion."

Laxus's eyes narrowed at the man who simply grinned, teeth showing. The lightning mage clenched his fist from immediately, wanting to make him eat the ground under his foot. But he held back and waited to see the man's intentions. He could, however, feeling Ringo's dark eyes on him, curious as to what the man was talking about. Laxus didn't look at her.

"Even before being kicked out of your guild, there were many rumours of you going around to men like me." John continued, his voice a bit edgy, as if putting on a false bravado. "A nasty man who hates the weak and a desire for strength. Very similar to me and my kind."

The man's smile became thin and malice filled his face. His eyes turned to Ringo and she felt a shiver run down her spine at the glare that the man produced to her. Ringo took a step back, her stocking feet sliding on the smooth floor as she did. With Ringo, John held no fear.

"I guess being kicked out of your guild by your own flesh and blood grandfather really put a toll on you." John continued, his cold glare turning back to Laxus who seemed to be calming down but flaring up with every other word the man spoke. Relief rushed through John at the thought of getting under Laxus's skin and started to push his limits. "To think that a man of your caliber would become so meek to the point of wasting your days with a weak mage like that." With his last words he gestured towards Ringo.

Ringo did nothing but frown and place her hands on her hips. The insult did nothing to her. Whether someone called her weak or strong, it didn't matter much to her, but his insults to Laxus started to pang at her. She stepped forward, standing slightly in front of Laxus. The lightning mage glanced down at her, seeing her stubborn face.

"You're a very rude person." Ringo said, staring John straight in the eyes. Despite the glare, she kept her eyes locked on him. "I dislike rude people."

"And what is someone like you going to do about it?" John retorted. "Cry and beg me to stop." The man started to laugh from his stomach, making his own uneasiness fade, and Ringo's frown turned into a frustrated pout.

The sound mage lifted her hand, a magic circle forming in front of the laughing man. "Mute." She whispered, clenching her fist. The laughter of the man cut short and he immediately stopped. His mouth opened, showing signs of him talking, but nothing was heard. "I dislike people like him." she said, turning to Laxus and pointing at the still flustered man.

"Fry him." she told her friend who looked at her with a bit of bewilderment. She simply smiled. "The past is in the past and the Laxus I have come to know would zap his ass."

The creases in Laxus's brow disappeared and he stood up straight. A small smirk grew on his lips as he turned to the man who had finally realized that they had caused his voice to disappear. Electricity pumped through his arm as a large jolt flew straight down from the ceiling, showering the man in the plasma charge. John screamed in silence as it pumped through his body and causing his heart to jump.

The blast stopped short of killing the man, but assured he wouldn't be getting up any time soon. The two mages walked over to him and noticing that he was still conscious, Ringo released her silencing spell. The man coughed and looked up at Laxus. "You changed…" he struggled to say. "For good or worse doesn't matter… Just keep in mind, that you can't escape the raven…" The man was shaking her fear, his eyes bewildered but it all stopped when he finally fell unconscious.

Laxus frowned, understanding the man's words as Ringo stared at him confused. He shook his head. The sound mage shrugged and went over to the window, opening them up to show a morning sun. "I didn't realize we stayed up all night." She said, watching the sun rise over the horizon.

Laxus came up behind her and looked at the front gates that they had originally come through. He opened the window and jumped out, not wanting to bother searching for the front door. Finding no other option, Ringo did the same, holding the hem of her dress down as she fell the two stories and landed safely on her feet.

Ringo looked back at the house. The creepy feeling it gave off seemed to be gone in the morning light. She noticed Laxus already starting to walk away and quickly followed him. As they stepped towards the gates, a single doll sat in the center of the gates. The doll was perfect, clean and had no cracks, her hair was straight and clothes seemed washed. Her head looked up at the two mages and all Ringo could hear was a small click before it exploded.

The two mages were sent flying backwards, hitting the ground hard as dust and fire fell onto them. Ringo sat up, feeling a bit disoriented as warm liquid dripped down the side of her head. She touched it, feeling a sting and something warm and sticky on her hands. Looking at it, pools of red blood dripped onto her legs. She frantically looked herself over; her clothes were cut, body scraped and dirty, she was bleeding but the worse seemed to be from her head. She then looked around for Laxus.

Due to the dust that was kicked up, Ringo could only see the dark shadow of the man as he stood up and checked himself out. As the smoke began to clear, Ringo started to walk towards him. When she was finally in his field of vision, Laxus was relieved to see that she had gotten away with minor injuries similar to himself. His clothes were tattered and small blood stains and bruises formed but nothing he couldn't just walk off. The man looked back at the house but felt no sign of a threat, no killing intent at all.

"Was that a way of telling us good bye?" Ringo asked, coughing slightly and exhaling some smoke.

"Seems that way." Laxus said with a slight growl.

John's words bounced on his mind as Ringo took to walking in front and leading them away from the castle.

'You cannot escape… the raven…'

I do accept critiques and I would love any helpful tips. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

My apologies if this chapter seemed a bit rushed. I struggled with writing it since taunting bad guys are not my thing. Next chapter will be a filler to give you guys a small break from this arc after arc thing. I

f you have any suggestions for a one chapter filter you think would be fun for Ringo and Laxus to embark on, tell me! I'll choose my favourite! 3