A/N: Yes, I am adding this chapter because it'll be centered around Shiro and Laxus.

Episode 225.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX: THE LIGHTNING MAN

It was a casual day in the God Pegasus guild hall when the doors opened. Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen soon entered, getting the guild member's attention.

"Fairy Tail?"

"Isn't that the Raijin Tribe?"

Laxus soon walked in behind them. "Is Shiro around?" He questioned.

Alyssa glanced up at the second floor. "Hey, Shiro! You're needed down here!" She called out.

Shiro soon walked down the steps with Blaze right next to him. "Laxus? What can I do for you?" He asked, walking towards him.

"I need your help." Laxus held out a flier towards the black-haired male that had 'Help! Laxus!' on the front. "The town of Borwatt has a lightning problem going on."

"Laxus suggested we'd come and ask for your assistance." Freed added.

Shiro hummed. "Well, if it's a lightning problem, two Lightning Mages are better than one." He claimed as Laxus nodded in agreement. "Alyssa! Blaze and I are going to lend Laxus a hand! Inform the Master for me, will you?"

"You got it!"

Shiro soon leaves with Laxus and the Raijin Tribe.

Borwatt...

Shiro and Blaze had arrived with Laxus and the Raijin Tribe. The town was all dark and looked stormy. "So it's a lightning rod exhibition, huh?" Evergreen questioned.

"Nobody's here!" Bickslow noticed.

"Well, under the circumstances..." Freed's hair stood up as his fingers sparkled. "Static electricity."

"I'm getting a kick out of your hair." Bickslow said as he turned to Evergreen who was in the same situation. "Yours, too."

"Shut up. Who are you to talk?" Evergreen retorted, referring to his own hair.

Shiro glanced up at the sky. "Laxus." He said.

"Yeah." Laxus glanced up as well. "Here it comes."

Lightning struck down and hit all of the lightning rods on the rooftops. A tree fell to the ground. "Aw, man!" Bickslow commented.

"No wonder the whole town is electrically charged." Freed said.

Laxus and Shiro stepped forward. "Where are you two going?" Freed asked.

"To talk to the client." Laxus replied.

Two lightning bolts struck down as both Shiro and Laxus absorbed it.

"Laxus!"

"Hey, now!"

Static electricity came from the ground before another lightning bolt hit the two Lightning Mages once more. The townspeople of Borwatt watched. "It's still coming down?!" Freed exclaimed in shock.

"Seriously?! At this rate, it'll never stop!" Bickslow said.

"With this much lightning, even with Shiro's help, Laxus won't be able to hold out!" Evergreen claimed.

"Indeed. There's only so much lightning the two of them can take." Blaze added.

Evergreen leaped into the air. "I'll use my Leprechaun!" She shouted, about to call out the spell but got struck by lightning.

"This place is too dangerous for the villagers to live here." Freed said.

"Jeez. Pain the ass..." Laxus mumbled.

"If we combine our breath attacks, it might be able to do the trick." Shiro suggested.

"Worth a shot." Laxus agreed.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

Yellow and blue lightning combined into one attack as it shot up, clearing the dark clouds from the sky. "I knew you could do it." Evergreen said.

"It's just a stopgap measure. The thunderclouds will gather again." Laxus stated.

"And the static electricity is still here." Evergreen informed.

"But we need it to be quiet for at least a while so we can investigate, right?" Freed questioned.

"Yeah."

All of the townspeople soon began walking out and surrounded them. "Hey, what's this?!" Bickslow asked as a young boy rushed up to them.

"You're Laxus from Fairy Tail and Shiro from God Pegasus, right? You two fought against each other at the Grand Magic Games!"

"Well, from what I just saw with your power, you're both men to be reckoned with."

"This is the first time in a month we've seen a blue sky!"

"Thank you! I saw you at the Grand Magic Games, too! You're both strong!"

"Tch..." Shiro muttered under his breath.

"What? Can't handle a little praise?" Laxus teased.

"Shut up... Lucas and Atlas are mostly the ones who get the compliments. This is making me feel itchy inside." Shiro stated as Laxus let out a chuckle.

"U-Um..." Three girls were in front of Laxus as one of them extended their hand. "P-Please shake my hand!"

"Mine, too!"

"Please sign your name on my back!"

"No, I..." Laxus started to decline.

"Sending those clouds away was godlike, you know?"

"I could see myself being with Laxus! Or even Shiro!"

"And they're both S-Class Wizards! So cool!"

"Please shake my hand, too!"

"Mine, too!"

Townspeople began surrounding the two Lightning Mages. Laxus narrowed his eyes as the three girls had heart eyes and collapsed to their knees.

"C-Cool..."

"Such powerful eyes..."

"I just know our problems will be solved now that Laxus is here! He even brought Shiro with him!"

"Please shake my hand!"

"Sorry, but these fists are made for fighting, not shaking hands." Laxus stated, stepping aside as he walked away with Shiro, Blaze, and the Raijin Tribe following him.

"Someone would want to be with me..." Laxus muttered as Evergreen smirked.

"Well, well, well! Hello, hello, hello!"

"Oh, the mayor."

"Mayor..." Laxus mumbled.

"You sent the request, right?" Freed asked.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you. This is the mayor of Borwatt, Mr. De Cybele."

"Yeah, yeah!"

"And I am his executive secretary, Ga Maille." Ga Maille introduced himself. "Yes, I am the one who sent out that request to you."

"I watched. Yeah, I watched you! You're amazing! The world's greatest lightning man! I like you! Yeah, very impressive!" Mr. De Cybele claimed.

Shiro scoffed and crossed his arms. "You know, normally I would take offense to that. But considering I fought against Laxus during the Grand Magic Games, he does have remarkable power." He stated, making Evergreen chuckle.

"You have a sharp eye, Mayor Cybele. Let's return our town to a state of prosperity!" Ga Maille announced.

"Yeah, yeah! Exactly!" Mayor Cybele nodded in agreement.

"Thanks to you, we have fine weather again, but we needn't chat in the street. If you don't mind, may I ask you to accompany us to the mayor's mansion, where I can explain our circumstances in detail?" Ga Maille suggested, gesturing to the mansion on top of a mountain.

"Sure." Laxus agreed.

"Then please give Laxus-san and Shiro-san a big round of applause, everyone! They're our heroes!" Ga Maille said as the townspeople began clapping.

Inside the mayor's mansion, Laxus, Shiro, Blaze, and the Raijin Tribe all sat down on the couch. Mayor Cybele was across from them as Ga Maille was standing behind him. "Yeah, yeah. I like you people." Mayor Cybele commented.

"Getting to the point, when did this phenomenon begin?" Freed asked.

Mayor Cybele and Ga Maille nodded at each other before Mayor Cybele had a dark look on his face. "Since you came here, Laxus, yeah!" Mayor Cybele replied.

"What?!"

"You don't remember? It happened about a week before the Grand Magic Games." Ga Maille said as Laxus thinks for a moment before remembering what Ga Maille was talking about.

"This was that town..." Laxus mumbled.

"Did something happen?" Freed questioned.

"I was on my way back home from a job. Yeah, that did happen." Laxus replied. "You're saying all the lightning started coming after that?"

"That's right, yeah!" Mayor Cybele responded.

"The mayor's personality changed." Bickslow whispered over to Freed.

"He's on home ground." Freed stated.

"Borwatt was a prosperous post town, but because of the lightning, nobody comes, so now we're more like a ghost town. And what started this whole plague of lightning was your initial lightning that night." Mayor Cybele said.

"That's an unfounded accusation!" Evergreen argued.

"Wait. What do you want me to do?" Laxus questioned.

Mayor Cybele smirked. "Well, rid the town of lightning." He replied.

"Rid it?" Freed repeated.

"Yeah. After all, you're the one who started it. So take responsibility. That's only natural, right? Yeah." Mayor Cybele said.

"The townspeople see you as a hero, but your silly alleyway brawl brought this upon us. If they knew the truth, your reputation, not to mention the reputation of Fairy Tail, would fall." Ga Maille added. "Do we have an understanding?"

Later, they walked down from the mayor's mansion. "That piss-ant mayor!" Evergreen exclaimed.

"If that's his true character..." Freed trailed off.

"There's something else going on here." Evergreen stated.

Shiro hummed. "So I'm not the only one who noticed it." He thinks to himself.

"How do you know?" Bickslow questioned.

"A woman's intuition!" Evergreen responded.

"That's not much to go on."

"A man wouldn't understand. There's something about the mayor. After all, the original request didn't give any details. Don't you think that's strange?" Evergreen said but stopped when she realized Laxus had stopped walking. "Laxus?"

"The old man's words are coming back to me."

"What's that?"

"That night, it was as if I had been swallowed up by lightning and drowned in booze."

"The thunderclouds are back." Bickslow noticed.

"Are you gonna be a lightning rod again?" Freed asked.

"I started this mess. If I don't clean it up, it'll cause trouble for all of Fairy Tail." Laxus answered.

"I'll help you." Evergreen said.

"Count me in!" Bickslow pounded his fists together.

"The Raijin-shuu has followed you because we believe in you. Just tell us what to do." Freed told him.

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this. You and Blaze too, Shiro." Laxus said, looking at Shiro and Blaze. Shiro just shrugged.

"No problem!" Bickslow said as Laxus felt something.

"What's wrong?" Freed questioned.

"Ever since we've come to this town, I've been crackling with electricity." Laxus replied as the sky got dark again. "I have a feeling my Magic is being pulled that way."

"Then we'll just have to check it out." Evergreen said.

"Yeah. Let's investigate." Laxus agreed.

"That crackling? Or the mayor?" Freed asked.

"Both." Laxus responded.

They had entered the town as lightning cackled. "True, there's more electricity in the air than before." Shiro pointed out.

"Yeah." Laxus agreed.

Electric serpents soon appeared from the ground. "What is that?!" Evergreen questioned.

"It's coming our way!" Bickslow informed.

"It's all electricity." Laxus said.

"Electricity?! Laxus?! Shiro?!" Freed exclaimed as Laxus and Shiro began punching the electric serpents before he glowed yellow and Shiro glowed blue.

"Are you okay?! Aren't you two getting overloaded with electricity?!" Bickslow asked.

"I've gotta absorb it! Otherwise, you guys and the town are gonna get hurt!" Laxus responded.

Shiro laughed. "This is nothing!" He added.

More electric serpents appeared from the ground. "It's coming from behind, too!" Bickslow said.

"There's too much for even Laxus and Shiro to absorb!" Evergreen stated. "Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!"

However, her attack only made more serpents. "Now there are more?!" She exclaimed.

"Looks like you gotta totally destroy it! Baryon Formation!" Bickslow called out as his dolls appeared and struck the serpents. "There!"

"In that case, Fairy Bomb: Gremlin!" Evergreen shouted.

"It's coming from below..." Freed noticed, noticing the sewers. "What's that?"

Laxus kneeled down, getting Shiro's attention. "Laxus!" He exclaimed.

"I'm okay." Laxus reassured.

"Look at that." Freed pointed out.

"That statue..."

"It seems something's under it."

"Come to think of it, this area is where I scrapped with the delinquents." Laxus said.

"You two, go!"

"Leave this to us!"

"I'll go with Laxus and Freed. Blaze, stay here and help Bickslow and Evergreen." Shiro instructed.

"Right." Blaze agreed, shifting into his Battle Form.

Shiro, Laxus, and Freed took off as they rushed through the underground sewers. "Underground sewer system?" Freed questioned.

"What's that?" Laxus notices a large lacrima. "This is my electricity."

"You can tell?" Freed asked.

"Electricity-wielding wizards all use different wavelengths. They're like fingerprints." Shiro explained.

"This is definitely the electricity I struck the ground with that night." Laxus added.

"The electricity from that night attracted lightning, and stored up even more electricity. Is that even possible?"

"It happened, so it must be possible." Laxus responded.

"But that's a lot of electricity." Freed pointed out.

"I don't care. I'm going to end this." Laxus stated.

"How?" Freed questioned.

"I'm gonna neutralize it by hitting it with the electricity I've been taking in." Laxus replied.

"Are you sure about this? You already look pretty uncomfortable." Freed informed.

"There's no other way. That mayor pissed me off, but it doesn't change the fact that I am responsible." Laxus stated as he walked towards the lacrima.

The electricity headed towards him as Laxus absorbed it. "It's too much for you to handle alone!" Shiro exclaimed.

"Don't worry about me! Just think about protecting the town!" Laxus said as he kept absorbing the electricity. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art! Roaring Thunder!"

Laxus struck the lacrima, completely neutralizing it as Shiro and Freed used their arms to block the attack from coming at them. "Laxus!" Freed called out.

Laxus soon collapsed to his knees as he was trying to catch his breath. "That was really something." Shiro commented as he had stopped glowing blue. "I'm surprised you were able to withstand all that power."

"It didn't explode?" Laxus questioned.

"While you were doing your best, I set up my runes to destroy it." Freed explained.

"You set that up really nicely." Laxus complimented.

"I passed the Level 1 Rune Magic Shorthand Exam." Freed said as a green orb dropped.

Laxus picked it up. "Lacrima..." He mumbled.

"I've got it. That lacrima must have amplified your electricity power." Freed stated.

"My electricity... How could that happen?" Laxus wondered.

"It was obviously a setup from the start." Shiro answered.

"But who would...?" Laxus trailed off.

"Laxus!"

Bickslow, Evergreen, and Blaze rushed over. "Ever's gut instinct was right! That mayor planned the whole thing!" Bickslow informed.

Yellow lightning struck down at the mayor's mansion to reveal a very angered Laxus who had his magic power being exerted. Shiro was also right next to him. "You!" Mayor Cybele exclaimed as Laxus threw the lacrima at him.

"Mayor! What is that?!" Ga Maille questioned.

Laxus angrily looked at them, causing both Mayor Cybele and Ga Maille to freak out and more lightning struck down. A young girl rushed out.

"Grandpa, I'm scared!" She exclaimed, taking Laxus and Shiro by surprise.

"Don't come in here!" Mayor Cybele shouted, grabbing onto the girl and pushing her down.

Laxus raised his arm and countered the lightning, stopping it from coming down. "So you can protect something." Laxus stated.

"Shocker." Shiro commented sarcastically.

"I thought you were a good-for-nothing who only thought of himself." Laxus said. "Next time, make an effort on behalf of the town's citizens."

"Also, you'll be blacklisted from God Pegasus after this incident. I'll inform Master Kaiba. Don't bring any work to us. If you go this far to extort Fairy Tail, we don't wanna work for you." Shiro added before following Laxus.

"God Pegasus has a blacklist?" Laxus questioned after a while.

"I thought every guild had one. Does Fairy Tail not?" Shiro asked as Laxus shrugged. "We haven't had any problems with clients, so we never used it. This old man just became the first one."

God Pegasus...

Shiro and Blaze had just finished telling Lucas, Ace, Atlas, and Nero about what had happened. "Huh... Laxus is better than me. I would've given that old man a real thrashing." Lucas commented.

"So did they get paid?" Ace questioned.

"Laxus did get rid of the lightning problem, after all." Nero added.

Shiro and Blaze shared a look. "Now that you mention it, I don't remember them collecting the reward." He responded, causing his guildmates to deadpan.

"It's good you told Master to blacklist that guy. There's no telling what he could do." Lucas said.

Shiro sighed. "Yeah... I just hope he learned his lesson."

Mayor Cybele and Ga Maille were looking at the destroyed mansion. "The repair costs for this will be exorbitant." Ga Maille commented.

"What are you just standing around for? Huh?" Mayor Cybele was looking at the Weekly Sorcerer that had Ichiya on the front cover. "I bet Blue Pegasus will pay, yeah!"

"Shall we do it again?" Ga Maille suggested.

"Of course! Yeah!" Mayor Cybele agreed.

"Hey, Grandpa!"

"Yes? You're cute as always today. Yeah!"

A/N: Another chapter is finished! The Tartaros Arc will be next!

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.