Bickslow walked over to the next mirror in line and looked in. It looked like it took place a few years later.
Cepheus looked over at Cassiopeia as she bounced a small child on her lap. He smirked as the child began to suck his thumb. He had dark blue hair that had to be his father's.
"How is our little prince?" He asked as she rocked him.
His wife's eyes shined up at him. "He's perfectly healthy."
He watched as the boy fell asleep in his mother's arms. It didn't take long and she soon stood and placed him in his crib. "I didn't think you would come today." She said sadly.
He frowned. "Soon, my love. Once my father realizes that we can't be pulled apart and that I have provided him with an heir, he will accept our marriage. He has no choice."
She walked over to him, looking as if she were about to cry. "I don't want you doing anything dangerous."
He gave her a small smile. "As long as I have you, I have every reason to be safe." He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
The memory ended and Bickslow stepped away. That answered nothing. Deciding that he needed to know more, he stepped over to the next mirror.
"Stand down father. You have lost." Cepheus said looking down at his father, blood stained his clothes and he had a red gleam to his eye.
"You have no idea what you are doing! A kingdom built on blood will not survive!" The old man screamed from the ground.
"If only you had allowed me Cassiopeia from the start. Then this would have been avoided. But no. I had to marry one of some daughter of a lord who had no magic. Do you seriously think that I would allow my blood to become tainted with that?!" He said, placing his sword at his father's neck.
"Son, we can talk this out! You don't have to do this!" His father begged.
He smirked as he brought the blade down on the man's neck, cutting his head off and letting it roll away on the floor. "It already has. Miresa belongs to me and I will do with it as I see fit."
Bickslow backed up again as the memory faded. Things were starting to make some sense in his mind, but he still had too many questions. Why was Cetus remembering this? Was this the man that he had possessed years ago? If so, why did he carry these memories now? He cursed, why did the demon's mind have to be so complicated.
Ivan barely had enough time to get out of the way as Nullpudding tossed some more needles his way. Even in his own world of illusion, he wasn't safe.
He needed to finish this quickly, the wounds on his back were deep and he could feel his blood cascading down his back.
He was forced to roll out of the way as another set of needles few his way. His eyes looked them over as they stung into the ground.
He looked back at his attacker. He was just a young man. One that probably had this life ahead of him. But he could no longer let him live. Not only was he under Cetus's control, he knew too much about their guild. He had no idea what Cetus was planning, but he couldn't allow the demon to hurt the rest of his family. The longer he stayed here, the longer Bickslow remained possessed.
He began to mess with the space that they were in. It didn't take long for the world to enclose around the purple man's body. He felt sorry for the man, but this was all that he could do. Cetus's pull was too strong. He wondered if any of the others would be able to brake free.
He stood and listened to the screams of terror as he commanded the world to crush the young mage. It was for the his own good. No one deserved to live their time out as a slave. That was what he told himself.
He couldn't remember the last time he had taken a life. Was it 3 years or 4 years since then? The time away had made him soft to the sounds of death.
This was almost like seeing it again for the first time. His mind flashed back to his first kill. He was on a mission with Remy and there was a guard that had ended up following them. They had no choice. He remembered that they didn't talk about it for a couple of weeks. Only because they were forced to do it again. Soon it became as normal as breathing.
He cringed at the sound of bones braking. It was madding really. The first time Remy had been there. This time he was going in alone. At least the screams had stopped. The only sounds present in the void were the last bit of cracking and his labored breathing.
He felt himself go weak. He felt light headed. Those needles didn't just cut him open. He felt sick to his stomach, this had to be poison. It wouldn't be the first time he came across it.
The void faded around him and he was back in the square. He could hear some fighting in the background, but it faded in and out. The world around him looked blurry as he found himself getting weaker. He tried to take a step forward, but his body was too heavy. He felt the hard pavement against his body as he fell to the ground.
The world around him began to go in and out, before fading to black.
Lisanna hugged her sister against her once more. "How did you get here?"
Mira only cried into her as an answer. The rest of the people in the room looked flabbergasted.
Ever looked at her darkly. "I believe the question is, how are you alive? Raven Tail was killed by the blast that hit your guild three years ago."
She backed up a little. "We barely made it out alive. One of our own got back to us in time, so we were able to evacuate the guild." She knew that would only make them ask more questions.
But thankfully Freed was there. She would have preferred Laxus to tell them, but he was busy at the moment. "They fled here under the agreement that they would prepare this country for a war with our own. They did what they were asked, but they hit a snag."
Everyone turned to glare at Freed. "You knew!" Mira said running to slap him.
She moved herself between the man and her sister. "Mira, he only found out a couple of days ago. I ran into him and Laxus in the street. I told them everything."
Mira looked offended. "You didn't trust me enough to tell me?"
She shook her head. "We had no choice. It was dangerous to come out. Our guild had to hide, even here. I worried that if I told you, they would come after you."
"But why Laxus and Freed?" Elfman asked.
"I thought only Laxus would follow me. But Freed came to. I was scared, I still am. I don't know what is going to happen to my family and I panicked." She tried to hold back her tears but was failing. She knew that he was still out there, using her husband like a puppet.
Ever raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about Bickslow? I figured that we would have seen him by now."
She felt herself fall to her knees. Why did she have to bring up her husband's name? She was still wondered if she would ever see him again. This morning was the first time she truly had seen her husband in a long time.
The world around her moved, but she didn't register anything. They had to be putting her on the couch, but she had no way of knowing that. Their voices were all muffled, it was almost like she couldn't hear them. She felt a little dizzy, but stayed conscious.
"This place is weird. I wonder why this is here?" The voice rang though her head and she practically stood up. She looked around the room frantically. She knew that she just heard her husband's voice.
"Lisanna, what is it?" Her sister asked, looking scared.
She started to walk away from them, into the kitchen. When it sounded again. "Seriously, why does Cetus have so many memories of these people?"
"Bickslow?" She thought his name, hoping that he could hear here.
The voice froze. "Liz? How can you hear me?"
She covered her mouth, she felt like crying but her eyes were all dried up. "I thought you were dead."
"No, I'm just stuck in the back of Cetus's mind now." He said in her thoughts.
"Can you get out?" She asked desperate to feel some glimmer of hope.
He sighed. "I don't know. Right now all I can see are this assholes memories. Once I get through here, I may be able to find something. Don't lose hope yet."
"I haven't, I'm just worried. I want you back home with me and our daughter." She thought back.
"That's my plan, but until I get answers, I think I'm stuck here." He said, not sounding happy about his new living arrangements.
She almost laughed. It had been a long time since she had heard him speak in that tone. "Just know that I love you. Come back to me, okay."
"I love you too, Liz. Make sure to hug Xenia extra tight for me." His voice faded away again.
She felt herself smile to herself. "That idiot."
She walked back into the living room, only to find Mira and Elfman gushing over her daughter. The little girl's turned purple \ and they were all pushed out for a second.
"Lisanna? Are you okay?" Laki asked.
She nodded. "Things have just been hard." She walked forward and the shield faded away once Xenia saw her. "I don't think you are going to get a nap today."
Her daughter let out a giggle, as Mira walked back over to her, gushing again. "You didn't say anything about having a baby."
"Papaw" The little girl said clapping her hands together.
She smiled down at her daughter's enthusiasm. "It didn't come up."
She felt someone pull on her leg and she looked down to see Gunner looking up at her. "Can I play with Xexe?" He asked.
Ever pushed her glasses back. "Leave it to Bickslow to name this daughter something like that."
She only laughed. "Her name isn't Xexe, Gunner just can't pronounce her name." She put her daughter down. "Gunner, can you say Xenia?"
"Xexe." The boy said stubbornly.
Across the room, Carma laughed. "He's as stubborn as his father, I swear."
"Speaking of father's, where is Bickslow?" Freed asked.
She sighed, she felt better after he had contacted her, but she still felt uneasy about it. She pointed to the chaos that was all over the TV. "Before we left Raven Tail, there was a demon that lived in that place. Bickslow made a deal with it that allowed us to survive, but there was a cost. He would be forced to share his body with it. This morning, it came to collect." The room around her grew quiet. "I know that the monster behind those attacks in the square is using him. He's being controlled like a puppet and he can't do anything about it. He doesn't even have a clue for how to break free from it." She said, not taking her eyes off of the screen. "And even if he did. He would be tried as a criminal."
Freed walked up and looked at the screen. "So the reason he was acting strange was the demon finally taking over him."
She nodded at him. "Today is Xenia's birthday. He said he was going to spend the day with us. He took her upstairs and that's when I heard him start screaming. He told me to go get a knife and by the time I got back to her room, he was gone."
The room stayed quiet after that. No one said anything. They didn't have to. She only hoped that it wasn't too late and that he could be saved. If not, she didn't know if she could take it.
To Be Continued….
Author's Note
Sorry about this being late. I just started school again and finished up my other big story on this site, so most of my time went to that. I did have one announcement; this story is moving to an update schedule on Sundays. That way I have time to study for my classes.