And here's Chapter Three!
I hope you are enjoying this story.
If you haven't noticed, it is a very slow-progressing story.
Something I haven't written before.
Normally, as you know, my stories tend to be more fast-paced.
This one, however, will not be fast-paced it will be, what do you call it?
Oh Yes, a slow burn. (Right?)
But, without further ado, On With The Show!
Laxus' lungs were screaming at him. His breathing was rigid and heavy. It felt like the air was burning his lungs as he took deep breaths trying to regulate his breathing. His vision was blurry and his ears were ringing. He couldn't remember when the last time he had blacked out was. Normally it was after drinking way too much way too fast. However, with the Dragon Lacrima inside of him, he did burn through alcohol pretty quickly. But this time it felt different. His body felt as if it was pushed to the max, like when the dragons had attacked during the Grand Magic Games. He knew he wasn't at the Games because that was months ago.
Why did he feel like this then?
Laxus' vision was the first to return, and then his hearing followed. The sight in front of him was confusing. It looked like a clearing but it wasn't. The trees looked like they were plowed over or blown up. There were branches and pieces of tree trunks scattered everywhere. The leaves looked burnt. There were scorch marks all over the ground. Craters covered the area like a wrecking ball was slammed into the ground multiple times. In other words, it looked like a war zone. A war he didn't quite remember, except it wasn't a war.
Images began flashing through his mind. One image made him snap his gaze to the side where they locked in on an impaled Lucy with the rest of his team shielding her. He saw another body out of the corner of his eye a few feet away. There lay the body of a man that he didn't recognize. However, from what he gathered from the flashing images, that man had caused Lucy's current state.
"Laxus!" He heard Evergreen shout, the anger and concern in her voice made him snap his head back toward her. "We need your help!" She croaked when he looked at her.
Laxus nodded and made to move in her direction. His legs felt weak and wobbly but he pushed himself to reach the group. He watched as Freed used his sword to slash through the tree roots that had impaled Lucy. Bickslow and Evergreen held her up slowly lowering her to the ground.
"Is she all right?" Laxus asked, barely recognizing the deep rasp in his voice.
All three of his teammates shook their heads.
"How do we get her back to the guild? We can't move her that far in her state." Evergreen asked tears glistening in her eyes.
It was strange to see Evergreen openly show any type of emotion. She normally kept her emotions locked up pretty well, playing off everything with a haughty attitude that normally got her into trouble. But he knew deep down she felt just like everyone else, she just hated showing it. She claimed she didn't want anyone to look at her like she was weak or to pity her. He knew she was strong but even he would break in this type of situation, so he knew better than to say anything.
"Is there a hospital close by? We can contact Master when we get there." Freed asked.
Bickslow shook his head. "No. We're closer to the guild than a hospital at this point." Bickslow informed trying to gently stretch out Lucy's legs, cringing at the whimper that left Lucy's mouth.
Evergreen had her eyes closed looking in thought. She gritted her teeth as thoughts filtered through her mind. She knew there had to be a way to quickly get Lucy the help she needed. She just had to think. Think. Think. That's when it came to her. Her face turned serious as she opened her eyes and looked directly at him.
"Can you take her?" Evergreen asked her eyes hard and unrelenting.
Laxus blinked at her in shock. He knew exactly what she was asking, but the answer? He didn't know. He'd never taken someone with him who was in the state that Lucy was in right now. He'd taken his Gramps now and then back and forth to the council a few times. However, his Gramps was small and easy to transport, Lucy on the other hand wasn't as small and she was also severely injured.
He swallowed as he looked her over. "I don't know." He admitted hesitantly. He didn't want to try and transport her and end up making her worse. But he did admit that they needed to get her help right away. That's when he made his decision. "Call the guild. Make sure Wendy and Porlyusica are on standby. I'm not sure if this is going to make her worse or not." Laxus said bending and wrapping one arm under her knees and the other around her back.
He stepped back getting ready to take off when he heard a whimper. He closed his eyes not wanting to hear the sound.
"Please..." He heard the gurgle of Lucy's voice from his arms.
He gulped pulling her tighter to him. He couldn't look at her. He felt ashamed as it was for not being able to get to her before she was injured. He knew he was her only hope of getting to the guild quickly enough. Was he going to make it in time? He didn't know, but he sure as hell was going to try.
"I'm sorry. Please hang on." Laxus murmured before taking a deep breath.
He had to concentrate otherwise there was no way he was going to make it. Especially with how he felt right now. He was exhausted. It felt like his tank was on empty but he had to do this. This was his fault. He wasn't here to protect her and now look at the state Lucy was in. He knew Mira and Natsu were going to kill him for not protecting her but he'd worry about that later, right now he had to get Lucy to the guild so she could be saved.
He watched as Freed pulled out his Communication Lacrima. That was his cue to get going. He just hoped that he'd make it without making Lucy's injuries worse.
The three Thunder Legion members watched as Laxus shot up into the air just as the call connected.
"Fairy Tail, how can I help you?" Mira's cheerful voice came through.
Freed swallowed before clearing his throat. "Mira." Freed croaked.
"What happened?" Mira's voice went hard and serious at the look on Freed's face and at the tone in his voice.
Freed took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. He wasn't confident that he could relay the information and still keep it together. But for Lucy and Laxus he had to. He was more than determined to.
"Laxus is on his way with Lucy. She's injured. Badly. Please have Wendy and Porlyusica ready. It's really bad Mira." Freed said his eyes closing trying to hold it together long enough to get it all out.
Freed watched Mira nod. "They'll be ready. You three better make it back safe." Mira said before cutting the connection.
"She must be mad. She didn't even say bye this time." Evergreen commented with a sigh as she removed her glasses and wiped at her eyes.
Freed shook his head. "No. Not mad. Worried and Concerned. She'll be mad later when Lucy's in a better condition." Freed said putting the Lacrima away.
Bickslow looked at the only active Totem as it paced back and forth in the air. 'Lucy hurt. Sorry. Sorry, couldn't help.' The totem chanted worriedly.
Bickslow sighed putting his palm up for the totem to land on. "You did your best buddy. Don't beat yourself up over it." He looked over at Freed and Evergreen. "Let's get home." He said gathering the rest of his totems in his arms.
Freed and Evergreen nodded as they followed behind Bickslow as he led the way back to the train station. They needed to get home so they would know for sure if Lucy was okay or not.
They hoped that Laxus would make it in time.
They'd never forgive themselves if they let anything more happen to Lucy.
Mira disconnected the call before the tears gathered in her eyes. She leaned against the counter in front of her, her hands curled into fists as she gritted her teeth. She knew she shouldn't have let Lucy take that mission alone. But she didn't want to seem like she doubted her in any way. This was on her. She let Lucy take the job even though she knew it wasn't a good idea.
She took a deep breath before turning toward the guild. Her eyes hardened as she searched over the crowd. She needed specific people for this. She spotted Jet first.
"Jet!" She yelled gaining his attention. It may have been because she let the demon's voice slip out but she didn't care right now. "Go get Porlyusica. Now." She ordered. She watched him nod before taking off faster than she'd ever seen him go before. She looked over the guild again before spotting Wendy with a worried look on her face. "Wendy. Get the infirmary ready. Laxus is incoming with Lucy." Mira said trying to control the demon side from coming out.
Her emotions were in overdrive. She had to take a few calming breaths before she lost complete control. She watched Wendy nod before she ran up the stairs.
"What happened to Lucy?" Levy asked worriedly walking up to the bar with Gajeel behind her.
However, Mira didn't get a chance to answer when the doors burst open. She watched as Jet ran in depositing the old healer in front of the bar. The old healer raised her broom to wack Jet but took in the looks on the faces around the guild and dropped her arms to her sides.
"Who?" She asked directing her glare at Mira.
Mira looked down. "Lucy." She said before raising her head. "Laxus should be incom-" Mira started before she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. "He's here." She said as the sound of lightning crashing filled the guildhall.
A flash of light followed the crash blinding the eyes of the guild members. The guild collectively covered their ears and closed their eyes. When the spots disappeared from their eyes they saw a sparking Laxus bent on one knee breathing heavily holding a heavily bleeding Lucy to him.
"Oh my..." Levy gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands fighting back the tears that threatened to spill.
They all took a tentative step toward him but took a step back when the lightning lashed out at them. No one could get close to him with the lightning sparking around him. It seemed that the lightning was acting on its own. Lashing out at any threat it sensed.
"Laxus you have to pull it back if you want us to help her." Mira snapped.
Laxus was struggling, he could feel his magic raging and lashing out. He never traveled like that before without breaks in between. He kept going straight to the guild. He kept pushing himself trying to get there as quickly as he could. He was trying to rein in his magic when a hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed.
It was a heavy and hard yet cold hand. A familiar one.
"Pull it back, man. She needs help." Gajeel said squeezing Laxus' shoulder again.
Gajeel wasn't afraid of Laxus' lightning as he had coated himself in an iron barrier. He had trained to withstand getting struck by lightning and it seemed to have paid off. The lightning barely bothered him and right now they needed someone who couldn't get hurt by the lightning.
Laxus swallowed and nodded. He concentrated on his breathing slowing it down. It took a few breaths but the lightning died down a few seconds later.
"Take her." Laxus croaked.
Gajeel nodded before letting go and letting the iron barrier fall. "Don't worry, she's in good hands." He said before bending and lifting Lucy into his arm.
"Gajeel..." Levy called out tears running down her face.
"I won't leave her till I know she's going to be okay, don't worry, Shrimp," Gajeel called over his shoulder as he walked toward the stairs.
Laxus watched as Gajeel carried Lucy across the guild and up the stairs to the infirmary leaving a trail of blood along the way. He was glad he was able to make it. But did he make it in time to save her? He didn't know. He just had to hope.
"You did good, my boy." He heard his Gramps say.
He lifted his head and looked at him. His Gramps had a small sad smile on his face. He knew his Gramps was feeling the same pain the rest of the guild was feeling. Lucy was one of his children too. He knew that he'd take it just as hard. He watched as his Gramps reached his hand out to him but that was the last thing he saw.
Everything went black.
Makarov sighed as he watched his grandson's eyes close and his body fall forward. The boy had pushed himself too far, it seemed.
"Elfman!" Makarov called out. "Take him upstairs. It seems the boy wore himself out." He said shaking his head.
Elfman walked over, his face sullen, refusing to look at the puddle of blood that Laxus lay in. He lifted Laxus up over his shoulder and carried him upstairs to the infirmary.
"Master..." Levy whimpered.
"They'll be fine, dear. Have a little faith." Makarov said even though inside he was just as worried as the rest of the guild. He sighed as he looked over to the puddle and trail of blood that led through the guild. "Mira." He called out softly. "Can we try to get this cleaned up, please?" He asked.
He didn't get a reply but he heard movement behind him. He knew she was getting what she needed to clean it up. His eyes trailed up to the doors of the infirmary where his grandson and Lucy were taken.
He had just hoped that everything would work out fine.
Wendy's eyes darted to the door when it opened a second time, watching as Elfman walked in with a passed-out Laxus over his shoulder. Elfman was quiet as he made his way across the room to one of the empty beds. He refused to look in their direction. She couldn't blame the man since the scene wasn't all that pretty. Her eyes went back to her task.
Porlyusica was holding Lucy on her side so she could reach both sides of the wound. Wendy had a hand on the front and the back of the wound her hands glowing trying to stop the bleeding before closing the wound. She's treated Lucy's wounds before but Lucy had never had one this severe before. Even after her battle with Minerva, her wounds weren't this bad or hard to heal.
Gajeel stood off to the side leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. She vaguely remembered hearing him promise Levy not to leave Lucy's side until he knew for sure that Lucy was going to be okay. She knew he wouldn't leave the room even if she would demand him to, so she left him alone. He was staying out of their way so she figured he was fine where he was.
Wendy gritted her teeth as she pushed her magic harder. She had to stop the bleeding before she closed it but the bleeding didn't want to stop. When she thought she had gotten it there would be another spot that would start bleeding.
"Slow down. Don't push so hard. Clear your mind and take a breath." The old woman advised.
Wendy did as she was told. She took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out. She knew she shouldn't push herself too hard but this was Lucy. She knew deep down that the guild wouldn't be the same if anything had ever happened to her.
Wendy's eyes darted to Laxus who lay on one of the other beds in the room. He was covered in blood but from the smell of it, it was all Lucy's blood, not his.
Wendy's eyes popped open when she realized she completely missed something. Smell. She closed her eyes and sniffed the air close to the wound. There! Her eyes popped open as she shifted her hands slightly to the spot where she found the bleeding coming from. She was so focused on trying to just stop the bleeding that she didn't take the time to find where the blood was even coming from.
"Good." She heard the old woman praise.
Wendy let out a breath of relief as she searched over the internal organs one more time to make sure she got everything before concentrating on closing the wound. The wound was slow to close it took longer than she thought it would.
Her eyes darted to the clock on the wall. It had been three hours since Lucy and Laxus arrived. She felt terrible for taking so long but Lucy had lost a lot of blood and she needed to make sure to stop the bleeding which took longer than she would have liked.
The glow of her hands stopped before she lowered her hands to her sides. She was exhausted. She'd never used her magic for that long before. It truly was taxing. Her whole body felt like it would give out but she still had things to do before she could rest. Lucy was her main concern. She couldn't quit now.
But of course, her body had other ideas. She went to take a step but she saw the floor getting closer to her face. She couldn't stop herself from falling even if she wanted to. She had no energy left. She closed her eyes figuring it was better not to see the floor impact her.
But she didn't hit the floor like she thought. She felt herself hanging in the air and something hard wrapped around her waist. She opened her eyes to see she was hovering above the floor but she also saw big black boots.
"I gotcha squirt," Gajeel said lifting her off the floor and laying her on the bed next to Lucy. "Get some rest. You deserve it. The old bat here can take care of the rest." He said before he felt a wack on the back of his head. He glared over his shoulder at the old healer who was putting her broom back against the wall. "Ow. That actually kind of hurt." He grumbled rubbing the back of his head.
"Call me an old bat again and see if I don't shove the broom somewhere where the sun doesn't shine." Porlyusica snapped while she tended to Lucy.
Gajeel inched away turning slightly to keep his rear away from the old healer. He didn't exactly trust the woman right now. He watched the healer hang up a couple of bags. One was clear and by the smell of it, it was Saline. The other didn't take a genius to figure out, it was red and had a coppery scent coming from it.
Gajeel looked over to Laxus who was still passed out. He felt bad about letting the guy lie in clothes that were covered in blood but he didn't want to be the one to change him. To him, it just felt wrong. He sighed and turned his gaze back to Lucy. He was glad that Natsu wasn't there, he would have burned the building down if he saw the state she was in when they had arrived.
"If you're not going to help, get out." The old healer snapped at him.
Gajeel raised an eyebrow at her. "I promised to stay with her until I knew for certain that she was all right. I'm not breaking that promise." He said going back to the wall he was leaning against earlier.
Porlyusica scoffed but left it alone. She had more important things to do, like keep Lucy alive. What she had failed to tell Wendy and Gajeel was that Lucy wasn't out of the woods yet. Wendy thought she was but the girl was exhausted and needed to rest. So, she decided to keep that information to herself. She half suspected that Gajeel already knew but he was wisely keeping quiet. Probably scared of getting the broom again. That thought almost put a smile on her face.
Almost
Lucy was stable at the moment so they deserve to relax for a bit. Hopefully, Lucy would stay stable and heal. She shot her gaze to Laxus and sighed. She knew that he'd be waking up soon. Even being exhausted and pushing his power to the max Dragon slayers, including the second generations, recovered quicker than a normal person.
She just hoped he wouldn't freak out when he did finally wake up.
I hope you're enjoying this story so far!
I'll do my best to keep it going.
I have pretty much the whole story planned out, but the hard part?
Writing the fill-in parts.
Believe me, it's harder than you would think.
Anyway, Thank you for the support!
