Chapter 59:

The past few weeks had moved at less than a snail's pace and Laxus felt no better off for his efforts. Day after day it was all the same. He'd wait for hours, searching even though he wasn't sure what exactly he was searching for. A man in a long coat with golden eyes? Sharp teeth? Absolutely no one he'd seen fit that description. He'd seen disinterested dads, tired moms, and children who seemed to forget how cold winter was as soon as they saw play equipment but certainly no seedy, human-sized reptiles. Their stakeouts hadn't just been limited to parks, either. Mirajane took to the skies at night, swooping over the sleepy houses and searching for anything out of place. Every night she came back empty-handed, cold and tired, but always smiling. She was somehow always the first one of them up in the mornings, bringing both he and Juvia coffee and tea and different things for breakfast. She doted on them almost like a mother would, that ever-present gentle smile on her face and light in her eyes. She was a wonder, but of course Laxus already knew this.

Juvia, on the other hand, constantly had him off-kilter. After only a couple of days of getting accustomed to Laxus her true colors started to show and Laxus wondered how in the hell it was that she and Gajeel were such close friends. She was always swinging back and forth in some mood swing or another. One moment she'd be lamenting her distance to Gray and raging over made-up love rivals and the next she was animated, talking about how he and Gajeel were such an admiral couple and Laxus some romance hero for trying to get his love out of jail. Despite it all, though, she knew what she was doing. It was her who purchased a map of Oleander and plotted out where the kidnappings had happened and at what times of day. She was the one who set up the shifts and made sure they each had ample amount of time to rest and eat. And when they reported back at the end of the day, she would always recount the strangest facts. Some of it was trivial, noting different couples or men who looked markedly similar to her unrequited love, but other times it was just things Laxus had never paid much attention to before; like the behavioral patterns of different shops, the exact times when shipments tended to arrive, when she saw the same person appear more than once in a certain span of time, or even specific behavioral patterns that denoted some sort of anxiety or secretive behavior.

It was always interesting and strange to him. He'd never really needed to spend so much time just observing, being an outsider in constant vigilance. He tried to pick up on things like that but often found he didn't have the patience. This really wasn't his way of doing things. He'd much rather just walk into the lion's den, brazen and full of lightning, and unleash his unholy rage on whatever it was that hid inside. He was ready to move, ready to jump to action, and the silence was maddening.

As the cold ebbed and turned softly into spring, he felt no warmer and far more bitter. He'd approached Juvia and asked if there was a chance whoever the guy was had left but she just shook her head. She had no way of knowing, they barely had any evidence he was in the area let alone that he was suddenly gone.

"Killers can sometimes go months being dormant," she said softly, not quite making his eyes, "Juvia is sorry, all she can tell you is that we have to wait and see."

Wait. Of course, it was always wait. Wait while Gajeel sat in prison, each day the light leaving his eyes more and more. Wait while each day passing could be the day he was transferred and lost to them forever. Wait while some cannibalistic murderer was out snatching kids in the street. He didn't understand how it all didn't drive them as crazy as it did him and he itched with the need to go out and do something, anything. But he didn't have a direction, no way to propel himself forward, completely at a loss on what to do.

So, he sat still on a park bench in the middle of town, feeling as much an ancient, unmoving thing as the dogwoods that were slowly starting to bud with springtime flowers; bitten less and less at his bones by the wind that slithered by as he kept his stoic vigilance. He took a sip of his coffee and flipped open a book, using it more as a prop than a source of entertainment. The sun eased gently behind a row of grey clouds and it just barely registered to him that the smell of rain was in the air. He was content to sit in his misery and cold wetness when there was a quiet clicking just behind him and his eyes turned up as a black umbrella bloomed above him.

"Most normal people ain't much inta sittin' in tha rain, ya know," Laxus set his teeth and turned only to be surprised by the person who stepped around the bench to settle at his side. It was Krew, or a shell of the man, anyway. His eyes were dull and tired, large bags beneath them telling Laxus that the man was wearing thin. He looked every bit as greasy as when they'd last spoken, although this time he had with him a briefcase in his hand and a nicer coat, looking more like a shady lawyer than a man for hire. Laxus noticed he'd cut his hair to be more uniform and it was slicked back, nearly black with whatever product he'd put in it.

"What're you doing here?" Laxus rumbled gently, taking the umbrella as it was offered to him while Krew lit himself a cigarette.

"I was in tha area an' thought I'd check on yer progress," he smirked, seemingly far less anxious of the blonde than when they'd last met. Laxus didn't break his gaze from him and noticed for the first time he had hazel eyes.

"Well you'll be disappointed," Laxus snapped, turning his eyes to the park, "We've gotten nowhere."

"That right?" Krew muttered, itching at his jaw, "Well… I told ya I wasn't sure anything was really here."

"But it sounds right," Laxus grumbled, "That description matches exactly what one of them would look like."

"Ye, but, ya have ta consider the source. It was a kid of about ten, could've just had a wild imagination, ya know? An' lets not forget there are other magics out there that can do similar things. Gajeel has the dragon eyes and fangs too, ya know. An' he gots claws when his armor is up. Coulda been anythin', really," he thought out loud, pulling out a small notebook from his coat pocket and slowly beginning to flip through it. Tobacco smoke eased from his nose and some of it caught in the hood of the umbrella before filtering away. He seemed thoughtful, "Gives ya that gut feelin' tho, don't it? That somethin's there right under yer nose…"

He flipped a couple of pages, stopped, flipped a few more.

"What are you thinking?" Laxus prompted and Krew's eyes studied whatever notes he was looking at.

"I'm thinkin' maybe we're lookin' at this wrong."

Laxus raised an eyebrow at him, "Eh? How so?"

Krew nodded towards the street, "Walk with me."

Burying the suspicion that immediately began churning in his stomach, Laxus rose and followed. The rain pattered gently above him and Krew pulled out a fedora that looked like it'd seen better days, donning it so he wouldn't have to share their limited shelter. He puffed at his cigarette and walked, glancing between shops and alleys and eyeing people's shoes. He was searching for something, Laxus realized, although he had not the slightest idea as of what it could be.

"Ya get to know the people 'round here?"

"A little," Laxus fingered his belt loop and kept his eyes trained ahead, "What do you want to know?"

"Ya got names?" it sounded like a request.

"Yes?"

"Did you make a formal introduction? You goin' by an alias?"

Laxus chuckled, "Mira and I have been on the cover of enough magazines that it would be stupid to try."

"True that…" Krew smirked and then muttered under his breath, "Still can't believe Gajeel ended up wit' some pretty boy."

"I have a giant fucking scar across my face, how does that make me pretty?" Laxus bit at him and Krew chuckled nervously. He motioned at him, his fingers flipping from his feet to his face and back down again.

"Tall 'n blonde and not a scratch on tha rest of ya. M'sure ye've had more than one girl hittin' on ya while you've been skulkin' about."

"Eh? I thought you were digging up dirt on lizard people, not on your friend's boyfriends?"

"I dig up dirt on everyone," he grinned, "An' I'm good at what I do. Take notes, kid, might save yer life one day."

"Doubtful," he growled derisively and Krew merely shrugged, not put off in the slightest.

"Ye need the help now, don't cha?" he prodded and Laxus settled. He couldn't deny that, "M pretty surprised Gajeel hasn't given ye some tips. Juvia was decent at this stuff but Kurogane was better…"

As they walked Laxus began to realize he recognized the place. They were near one of the only two schoolhouses in the tiny town, a few blocks into the surrounding businesses and next to an alley. It was one of the places where a kidnapping took place. They'd checked it out once before, he and Mira and Juvia. Out of all of the other kidnappings, this one had stood out. Aside from being the most recent, all of the other snatchings had happened either at dusk or later. It was an older child who'd been stolen, almost eight in age and old enough to know not to walk off with strangers. It was also his older brother who'd seen the man but was unable to pursue, frozen by terror or some other more sinister reason. He'd said they'd stepped together into the alley and vanished. There was no struggle, no signs of foul play.

Laxus blinked and suddenly realized Krew had still been talking.

"…used to track the scent of blood. Th'guy was insane. Helped me more than once, though, so I can't say too much."

"Eh? Sorry, I didn't catch that."

Krew stopped and glanced over at him before rolling his eyes in an almost comical way, "Don't much matter I s'pose. We're here."

"We've already checked this place out,"

"And ye didn't find anythin'?" Krew prompted, walking casually in without even the slightest hesitation. Laxus walked after him, slightly creeped out by the dank place. Krew was turning his head from side to side, looking at the brick walls.

"Nothing," he huffed as Krew suddenly stopped, eyeing a chip in the wall for a long moment before glancing at a nearby fire escape.

"Did ya check the roof?"

"Mira did. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

"Hmph," he flipped to a new page in his notebook and wrote something down before turning and continuing his walk, "No footprints?"

"When we got here there was snow on the ground… and the kidnapping happened a couple weeks before. If there was anything, it would have melted."

"Pity, that," he muttered, stopping at another chink in the wall, this one slightly larger. It didn't look to Laxus to be anything other than wear and tear, not necessarily a claw mark as it lacked similar slashes running parallel with it, but Krew seemed more than mildly interested in it, "Mother nature tries real hard to make us invisible… washes away our tracks and reclaims our buildings… after so long it's hard to fight her."

"That right?" Laxus watched him, his curiosity piqued. Krew seemed extremely deep in thought.

"Do ya know how cracks are made? Like in the sidewalk or-" he motioned to the brick of the building, "-on walls? They just seem ta appear after winter is over, don't they?"

"Yeah…?"

He tapped his pen to his notebook, "When it rains, water gets stuck in tha… impuritiesof tha…" he waived his hand at the wall, "cement, brick, whatever. The water freezes an' it does that. It makes the potholes, cracks, that stuff."

Laxus shook his head slowly, "I don't understand what that has to do with any of this."

"This ain't an old building. T's maybe ten, fifteen years old. Shouldn't be anythin' like thathappenin' unless the builder was a hack and bought cheap brick."

Laxus blinked, "How do you know?"

"The mortar ain't damaged," he hummed, taking a step back to glance down the rest of the wall, "So somethin's been climbin' up an' down this wall… a lot… somethin' heavier than a man."

"Heavier than a man?" Laxus furrowed his brow.

"These things, been lookin' a lot inta 'em," Krew muttered, still staring at the bricks, "They change shape. Well, even Bianca and that Bishop guy get those eyes an' claws. I ain't got proof yet but I think they get big. An' if ye can make yerself invisible, why bother with lookin' human at all?"

"Wouldn't he need to blend in?" Laxus prompted and Krew took a deep drag of his cigarette, thinking again.

"Ye said ye got ta know the people around… did ye approach them or they approach you?"

"Eh… they just introduced themselves as we stopped by. Why?"

"Even as small towns go this place is a blip on tha map… word of mouth travels fast, especially if they're a friendly lot…" he breathed out his nose, sending smoke into the air, "In a larger city, a few kids goin' missin' would be relatively unnoticed. It might make moms and dads keep their kids inside more but not like a small town. Everyone knows everyone here. Four disappearances is a big deal. But, a small town means a small police force. They don' know how ta track this guy down… The first place a cop would look is tha new guy in town. Thing is, ain't no one been movin' out ta these parts since all this started. Whoever's doin' this, they ain't hidin' in plain sight like Davian and Bianca. He's sleepin' under a rock somewheres and comin' out at night…"

Krew's voice dropped as he muttered, thinking out loud and still tapping his notebook, "…'cept fer this one. This onewas snatched up durin' the day. Why?"

"I… I don't know," Laxus was stunned. How had he gotten all of that just from their conversation? They'd been in Oleander for weeksand hadn't gotten so far. Were they all just really that blind?

He jerked his head deeper into the alley, "C'mon, let's keep movin'. Doubt we're gonna get anywhere just starin'."

The alley intersected another that Laxus immediately realized was where the various shops had their dumpsters. The smell became more revolting as they approached and Krew stood in the middle of the four-way gazing about him, slowly turning in a circle and running eyes up and down. They could have continued straight and exited back onto a new street, turned left and found their way to the empty yard before the schoolhouse, or gone right and walk through the muck of several small shops before hitting the industrial district.

"If I were snatchin' kids off the street…" Krew mused aloud, "I'd want to be where no one would hear. But there's a dozen shops here? No one heard or saw anythin'?"

"The kid left without a fight," Laxus pointed out.

"Right, right…" he tossed his butt on the ground and snuffed it under his foot, "but after a while he should have realized something was wrong? Unless the kid was really gullible… or he was killed back here somewhere quickly and quietly… before any noise could be made…"

"There was nothing back here, though," Laxus stepped to his side, practically seeing the man's wheels turning as he tried to puzzle it out, "The police didn't find anything in their initial search and neither did we when we came through later."

"Ye've been through since the snow melted? Seen no traces of blood? Scraps of clothing? Nothin'?"

"Nothing."

Krew muttered something beneath his breath and struck out towards the industrial district. Laxus followed silently as the rain began to patter harder against his umbrella. Krew didn't seem to mind it in the slightest, only stopping occasionally to glance around him. As they found their way to the end of the last shop, Krew stopped, not making his way out to the street. He pulled out another cigarette and lit it. He sighed out a cloud of smoke and shook his head before turning and going back into the alley, picking his way back where they'd come, this time eyes trained on the tops of the buildings. It was the second time that they came to the fire escape that Krew stopped again and stared at that same crack in the wall.

"It's right here, I know it," he murmured, glaring up at it, "Ye said there was nothin' on the roof?"

"We can look again," Laxus shrugged and Krew blew smoke upwards.

"Mnph…" he grunted, "Am I lookin' at this wrong?"

Laxus shrugged but he didn't seem to notice. Krew balanced his cigarette between his first two fingers and flipped through pages in his notebook, rereading notes, before saying it again, more steadily, "I'm lookin' at this wrong."

"What makes ya say that?" Laxus asked, still taken back slightly at how he was somehow working through this.

When he spoke again it was slow, deliberative, and he was still staring at the crack in the bricks, "If I was a mean-eater takin' kids in tha night… why would I switch to tha day?"

Laxus shrugged, "Maybe he got ballsy?"

"Maybe…" Krew breathed, flicking his ashes to the ground, "But three kids had gone missin'. Let's say parents were callin' kids home early, makin' sure they ain't gettin' lost after dark. That means there's less out ta eat, right? But tha school lets out before dark an' it's right there, not even a block away. How many kids do ya think pass these shops on tha way home?"

Laxus eyes widened slightly, "Wouldn't he risk being seen?"

"An' he was seen… by tha kid's brother…" Krew muttered, "He had ta plan a quick getaway."

"The report said that they stepped back into the alley and disappeared."

"Right, right… but wouldn't it have been bad if tha kid screamed? Right in the middle of town? Where god an' anyone could hear an' come runnin'?" Krew looked over at Laxus and smirked, "Unless he knew he'd be gettin' back ta that rock he's hidin' under pretty fast-like."

"You think he's around here somewhere?" Laxus was floored.

"Help me get ta the roof, will ya?" he nodded over at the fire escape and Laxus complied, pulling the ladder down for him to climb. Typically, Laxus wouldn't trifle with such a thing as climbing a ladder but with the rain and close proximity of metal he didn't want to chance accidentally causing a power surge. He followed Krew up the fire escape, cursing the springtime weather as he made his way up, and found at the top and underwhelming scene. It was just the roof of a brick building, flat and tarred, with no tears or discernable blemishes to be seen. Krew's eyes were down as he paced, looking for signs of something climbing the roof countless times, but there truly was nothing to see.

"What are you looking for?" Laxus asked him, standing still having not made a move further from the ladder and railing, not feeling comfortable enough in the roof's integrity despite having little reason to doubt it. Krew shrugged, making his was slowly back towards Laxus.

"Anything would do at this… point…" his eyes trained on something at Laxus's feet and he glanced down. It looked to be a button, dark brown and large, the kind of thing you'd find on a jacket or coat. Before Laxus could react, Krew was at it, a pair of tweezers in his hands to pick it up and place it in a plastic bag. He flipped the thing over a few times in his hands, "What color of jacket was the guy wearing?"

Laxus furrowed his brow, "I don't-"

Krew was flipping furiously through his pad before finding what he was looking for and he sneered, "Brown… a long brown trench coat that hid part a' his face," he took the bag between his two fingers and grinned, "This, this is it."

"How does that help us?" Laxus asked, confused and slightly excited, "It's just a button?"

"It wouldn't help, not normally," he tossed his cigarette off the roof and pulled out the thing, "but fer me, t's all I need."

Laxus eyes widened as the ground beneath Krew's feet began to glow silver and a magic seal appeared. His eyes began to glow and his clothing and hair began to lift, appearing almost weightless around him. He reached a hand out and gripped onto Laxus's wrist, pulling him to his side.

"Ghost Rewind," the words reverberated in the air and wind swept around them. Laxus's eyes widened as he noticed the clouds stopped moving and then, as if he were suddenly seeing double, they split in two. There where the clouds that he knew were in the sky and a double that were moving backwards, revealing the sun that had been shining earlier that day, and it was moving eastward against its usual motion, "Don't look too close, kid, it'll make ya sick."

The sun whipped by, then the moon, then the sun, as if they were travelling back in time even though the rain still pattered steadily on his umbrella and he could still see the present world around them moving as if nothing were amiss. It was strange and dreamlike, and as the rewind of time increased in speed Laxus felt as if he were tilting back, about to fall. And then, as quickly as it started it all came to a sudden halt. It was a sunny winter midday covered in snow, but he could still hear and feel the rain and the warmth of spring, could still see the outline of the cloudy sky and hear the hustle and bustle of the town below. As Krew walked across the roof to the edge, he made no footprints in the snow and there was no sound of slush beneath his feet. It was bizarre and surreal, watching the world as it was happening and as it had happened at the exact same time. Before he could become sick with the thought of it all, though, Krew was peering down over the edge and motioning for Laxus to follow.

"What kind of Magic is this?" he couldn't hide the astonishment in his voice.

"T'sa kind of retrospective Magic. Good fer research but I have ta know what date I need ta go ta," he waved the button at Laxus, eyes trained on the ground, "And I have ta have somethin' of the person I want ta track 'er else I can't, wait… there he is."

Laxus furrowed his brow, "I don't see-"

Krew pointed at the back of the alley and a touch of silver lighted the ground, shaped like a footprint, and then more followed. The footprints dashed quickly through the darkness before edging to the mouth of the alley, suddenly staying still. There was a shimmer and a figure appeared, garbed in a brown coat and with long, jet-black hair cut haphazardly as if the person who'd styled it had done so with their eyes shut. He leaned out and beckoned out at some ghostly figures that were walking the sidewalks, seemingly ethereal in their nonexistence. Two boys walked past but one stopped and glanced at him, he looked at his older brother before stepping towards the man who held out his hand. The kid inched forward, unsure, and his brother turned around just as he reached for the man's hand and suddenly the two were gone.

"Bloody hell…" Krew breathed at his side as the footprints dashed backwards. They shuffled around as if struggling with something before running at the building they were standing on, "There was a struggle, just no one heard it."

"How in the hell did he turn them both invisible?" Laxus jumped back as a handprint suddenly lit up on the lip of the edge.

"Time for that later," he muttered, running after the footprints as they made their getaway, "Hurry up, kid, we'll lose 'im!"

"Right," Laxus set his jaw, thunder churning in his belly as he sprinted after Krew and quickly overtook him, eyes trained on the retreat of the silver footsteps. He rushed from rooftop to rooftop, lightning snapping around him as he lunged from one rooftop to the next. At the last rooftop, he slid to a stop, catching himself on the ledge and looking wildly for the silver footprints. A shimmer across the street caught his eye and he growled. Forgetting his reservations about the rain he gritted his teeth and jumped, pulling from the thunder trapped in his chest and letting it burst forward, consuming his body in lightning as he flashed forward at breakneck speed.

The glimmer shimmered quickly ahead of him, somehow moving even faster than he could. They were in front of him, appearing alongside a single handprint as he had sometimes lapsed into running on all fours, inhibited by the load he had been carrying. His eyes centered on a gate up ahead and he quickly zigged up and over it, noticing a dent in the top of the metal bar from a significant amount of weight. There was a gash on a nearby wall when its claws had skidded down when he attempted to climb. Laxus was up in a flash but the footprints were sporadic and shuddering. He paused, realizing that everything was. The sun/rain above him, the snow/ground beneath him, and he felt himself suddenly lurched forward as the days and nights snapped into furious escalation. He felt dizzy and he dropped to a knee in an attempt to steady himself as the present came rocketing back at him, slamming into him like a wave from the ocean and he closed his eyes to brace for impact.

He waited a heartbeat, and then another, before easing open his eyes and realizing he was kneeling in the rain. He straightened slowly and gazed around him, taking in the normal world and realizing that at some point he'd abandoned his umbrella in frantic chase. He sniffed and tasted wood dust in the air. He was standing on a roof of one of the sawmill's building deep in the industrial district and there was no sign of Krew. For a moment, he contemplated staying and waiting on him but figured with how fast he'd been moving while using his lightning body it would be a long time before the man would catch up.

"Dammit," he snarled, trying to calm the lightning thad snapped around his fists as he begrudgingly stepped back and jumped off of the warehouse, landing with a thud in a puddle of rainwater and soggy wood shavings. A few workers eyed him as he walked through and one attempted to stop him but he disregarded them, heading back the direction he came.

He was nearly back to the street when he found Krew. He was slumped against the alley wall, his briefcase at his feet and leaning against his umbrella with a hand fisted into his shirt at his chest. He was noticeably gasping for breath and Laxus hurried to him.

"Oi, Krew, you alright?" Laxus took the umbrella from him and unfurled it, holding it over his head to try and shelter him a little more from the cold.

"Fine… agh… just… just fine…" he gasped, trying to straighten himself as proof but not able to succeed.

"What happened?"

"I just… eh… it takes a lot… it takes a lot outta ye…" he huffed and Laxus realized the man somehow looked even more exhausted than he had when he'd first approached him, "T's prolly gonna be the death of me."

Laxus furrowed his brow, "If it wears you down so much… why use it?"

Krew glanced up at him, breathless even as he waved him away, "Feh… t's nothin' a good rest cain't fix."

He was lying, Laxus could tell. He didn't know exactly what but the magic was taking a physical toll on him other than just depleting his magical energy. Before he could say anything about it, though, Krew was wiping his brow and taking the umbrella back from him.

"Ye track 'im down at least?" he huffed, striking out in the direction Laxus had come from.

"No, I lost it," he muttered, pushing his hands into his pockets as they picked their way through the back alleys.

Krew sighed, pressing his palm to his temple, "Sorry kid, the more I lose my grip on the spell the faster time time tries ta catch up. He was prolly only able ta outrun ya because of me."

"You got us farther in an hour than we did in weeks," Laxus assured him quietly, "You've done plenty."

They walked back to the sawmill but stopped at the fencing that Laxus had run into before. Krew wasn't in a state to jump it and there wasn't much of a point. Laxus could see the rooftop where he'd been forced to stop. As long as the plant was open there wouldn't be any looking around. Krew lit a cigarette and smoked it, leading the way around the fenced in complex. Laxus watched him quietly, surprised he wasn't ready to turn it. It was starting to get late and there was no doubt that the guy was exhausted.

"What are we lookin' for now?" Laxus asked, breaking Krew's concentration as they meandered down the street.

"Well… I'll let ya know when I find it," he muttered, stepping through puddles in his haste and splashing Laxus's jeans.

"Maybe you should take it easy?"

Krew shook his head, "Can't. I'm leaving in three hours on a train headed south. Gotta follow another lead before it goes cold."

"Another lead?" Laxus raised his brows, "How did you…?"

"Ya don' wanna know," he smirked, "Trust me."

Laxus didn't press him but he was concerned, "Listen… Krew… I don't think you should keep doing this."

"Eh? See me a little tired an' ya worried about meh?" he snuffed, "I'm fine, kid, ain't nothin' ta worry about."

"It's not just that," Laxus protested, "These guys mean business. You're going to get yourself killed."

"These bastards don' scare me," his words held no conviction and it vexed the blonde even more.

"Krew, I'm serious, you've done more than enough," he watched Krew's face as he spoke and the man's gaze became distant, his eyes unfocused, he seemed suddenly very distracted, "I know Gajeel would be torn up if something were to happen because you were helping him. Don't forget your wellbeing in all of this."

Krew slowed his walk then and halted. The rain seemed louder as it pattered against his umbrella and his gaze remained fixed on a point obscured by buildings and trees somewhere far into the horizon. He looked worn, like an old farmer watching his empty fields from his porch rocker. Laxus started to feel like he'd misjudged him. He really did care, maybe about the wrong things, but he wasn't heartless or cruel or even a coward. He glanced slowly at Laxus and a faint smile played at his lips.

"I ain't got many tricks left," he spoke quietly and as he held his vice in his hands Laxus noticed that cold fingers were shaking, "Ain't got a helluvah lot of life ta lose, ta be honest. Wasted most of it on earnin' money when I was younger, more stupid, if ye can believe it possible. T's why I never looked fer a partner; ain't got much as far as years to share with someone. The magic drains that…"

Laxus felt something in his heart squeeze. So, the magic did take a toll, and a heavy one at that. How much time had such a brief moment of clarity cost him? Was it weeks, months, years? And why would Krew commit to such a cost for a guy who barely stood him, who he could barely stand in return?

"…my dad was murdered back when I was a kid, t's what made me study. I was fourteen when I mastered the Ghost Rewind, fifteen when I caught the bastard who killed 'im, and sixteen when I found out I'd already taken twenty years off mah lifespan. People used ta say not ta smoke, it shaves off your expected years a' livin'. Ye can guess why I never quit," he chuckled but it wasn't bitter, it was light, like he was finally getting a weight lifted from his chest.

"Why are you helping us, Krew?" Laxus was distraught, his limbs felt cold and almost numb.

"For all my talents, I ain't done a lotta good in mah life. Could've joined Enforcement but I was so bitter with 'em I sold myself to Phantom instead. Never really grew a spine, ye could say… now I wish I had," he took a deep breath and let himself settle, "Hajime has been gettin' me out helpin' people, people who really need it. Wish I could go back an' tell meself to do it sooner. I like it an' now I guess I don' have a lotta time ta do it… guess ye could say I'm lookin' fer somethin' ta take wit' me when I meet my maker, maybe convince 'em I ain't sucha bad guy."

"Krew…"

He waved at him, turning his eye back to the road, "T's gettin' late. If we're gonna get this figured out before nightfall, we gotta get goin'."

They continued in silence, Laxus watching the street and Krew scanning the buildings of the old mill. He flipped open his notebook and read as they walked, keeping his pen ready to jot down notes as they made their way. Krew noticed an outcropping of worn-down buildings just outside the fenced in property of the mill. He asked if they were in the same direction that Laxus had been following and he affirmed that they were. They seemed broken down, with busted out windows and boarded doors. Laxus couldn't tell if they were a part of the saw mill or another property, but all seemed abandoned and ancient, staring down at them like the carcasses of wooden giants rotting in the elements.

Krew glanced up and down the street, "Looks 'bout right, donnit? Close enough of a run fer 'im to make it back wit' little hassle durin' the day. If he cut through the sawmill no one woulda heard 'im. There's no one out here that would go snoopin' around…"

"Yeah…" Laxus hummed at his side.

Krew handed off the umbrella once again and pulled out the bagged-up button. He flipped it over in his fingers a couple of times before taking one last pull from his cigarette and dropping it at his feet.

"Cross yer fingers," he muttered as his eyes once again began to glow silver, "Ghost Touch."

The button lifted from his hand and shimmered silver. As it did, more of the glow caught Laxus's attention. Footprints came from the sawmill to the dilapidated building, and it wasn't just one set. There were dozens of them, all leading to and from the blackened windows and half-covered doorways. Laxus heart began to beat hard in his chest and his eyes widened. A smile slowly pulled across Krew's lips.

"You did it," Laxus breathed, "You found the bastard."

"Told ya, I'm good at what I do," he grinned and released his power. The button dissolved into the air, consumed by the properties of Krew's magic. Laxus immediately held his hand out to the slim man and Krew took it humbly.

"Thank you, Krew," Laxus smiled genuinely, "For everything."

"Eh… don't go gettin' mushy. Ya still gotta kick that thing's ass," he laughed, "Send me word what ya find out. We'll swap notes."

"Sounds good," Laxus smirked and Krew took his umbrella from him, stepping away back towards town, "Stay safe, Krew."

"Now what's the fun in that?" he said wryly before tapping his two fingers to his forehead in a mock-salute, "See ya 'round."

"Yeah," Laxus's smile faded as he watched the man go. He was still worried for him but he pushed the feeling down and pressed his fingers to his temple, attempting to reach Mirajane using Thought Projection.

"Laxus," she jumped and as he focused on her he could see she was at the hotel, in the middle of getting dressed. He blinked a couple of times.

"I found him," he muttered, adverting his gaze and focusing on the street ahead of him, ignoring the image of her slipping on a new shirt as he skirted the edge of the building.

"Oh, oh really? Where is he?"

"Get Juvia and meet me by the abandoned warehouse just past the sawmill going out of town. I'll wait for you outside-" he rounded the corner and froze, "Shit."

"Laxus? What's wrong?"

"Of course, you'd fucking be here…" he snarled, fighting to keep lightning from snapping around his fists.

"Who's there? Laxus? What's going on?"

"Change of plans, Mirajane," Laxus growled, "I'm going in now. I need you and Juvia to take care of the guards."

"Guards? Laxus, what's going on? Who's there?"

Laxus seethed quietly from where he watched just out of sight as on the side of the road a containment carriage was parked with two Lieutenants on either side of it. Standing in front of them murmuring quiet direction with hair pulled up tightly in his usual topknot and a sabre at his side was Major Davian Bishop, and he walked brazenly into the building alone.

Author's Note:

Aw, wow, Krew isn't such a bad guy after all? And, whoo boy, Laxus is goin' it alone guys. What could possibly go wrong? I'm sure not a whole lot, he is an S-Class Mage, after all...

It was really late at night when i finally finished/posted this so I apologize in advance for spelling/grammar errors. I sort of half-assed proof reading it. I am a tired bean...

Thanks for reading and for your lovely reviews! You're all gorgeous beans! Happy Sunday/Monday! I hope you all have a wonderful week :)